Increased security for our nuke arsenal: Khar

New York: Facing international pressure over safety of its nuclear weapons, Pakistan has said it has taken steps to augment their security as it shares concerns that “non-state actors or terrorists” may acquire and use them. Pakistan shares concerns that “non-state actors or terrorists may acquire and potentially use nuclear materials and cause serious economic, political and psychological consequences”, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told a UN meet on nuclear security that policies and practices in New York.[caption id=“attachment_91020” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. Faisal Mahmood/Reuters”]  [/caption] “We have demonstrated through our political commitment and actions the importance that we attach to nuclear security. We have engaged constructively inter alia with the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and the Nuclear Security Summit processes,” she said. In an apparent reaction to the India-US civil nuclear deal, Khar contended that recent changes have “dealt major blows” to the non-proliferation regime and sought similar cooperation from the world’s atomic powers. Without naming India or referring to the India-US nuclear deal, she said: “Based on commercial and political considerations, have eroded the sanctity of long-standing norms and legal instruments that underpin the non-proliferation regime.” “The global non-proliferation architecture has witnessed major transformations in recent years. We have seen trends and policies that have dealt major blows to the non-proliferation regime,” she told the high-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security in New York yesterday. The US and other western countries fear Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme could lead to fissile material falling into the hands of terrorists or a devastating nuclear exchange with India. PTI