Bhutto Warns of Al-Qaeda Threat to Pakistan’s Nuclear Arsenal

Via Jamestown Foundation -

Amidst the ongoing disorder in Pakistan, a nuclear weapon falling into jihadi hands is a grave concern for neighboring states as well as for the global community. There is mounting apprehension in Washington about the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons as the turmoil in the country intensifies. There have been some reports indicating that the Bush administration could deploy U.S. forces to guard Pakistan's nuclear arsenal if the political tumult and violence worsen. Amidst all this, Pakistan has maintained that its nuclear weapons are “as safe as those of any other nuclear weapons state” (Daily Times, December 3). Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the threat to the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons is linked to the trajectory of the Islamist militants. This was recognized by former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who stated on December 3 that al-Qaeda affiliates could hijack Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if the country fails to neutralize the Taliban. She warned that a security failure affecting Pakistan’s nuclear weapons stockpile could provoke other countries to intervene. The international community “will not look on as spectators if Kahuta falls into [insurgents’] hands,” she said, referring to the Pakistani nuclear facility site founded by the now disgraced former top nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan (PakTribune, December 3).

The United States has stated that Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile is safe. Islamabad has received immense financial and technical assistance from Washington for developing nuclear safety measures. According to Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management, Pakistan’s case for aid has been that “if it does not receive the extraordinary dispensations that it seeks, it will in effect ‘implode,’ and in the process cause extraordinary harm to others. Part of the threat of this implosion is the spectre of a transfer of its nuclear arsenal and capabilities to more intransigent and irrational elements of the Islamist far right, who would not be amenable to the logic that the country’s present rulers are willing to heed” (JINSA, Fall 2005).