Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Pakistan – a notable absentee
From The Hindu
The one notable absentee from the list of national or country-level commitments made at the just-concluded Nuclear Security Summit is Pakistan, which finds no mention in a White-House issued document titled “Highlights of National Commitments at the NSS”.
The document lists commitments of 30 countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency, including India's commitment “Announcing the creation of a Nuclear Energy Centre with a nuclear security component,” and China's commitment “Announce cooperation on nuclear security Centre of Excellence”.
One mention of Pakistan's commitments came from President Obama himself, during a press conference at the close of the summit. Mr. Obama said: “Pakistan… announced new steps to strengthen port security and prevent nuclear smuggling.” This was a reference to the Megaports Initiative which aims to detect radioactive materials in containerised cargo. The National Nuclear Security Administration, responsible for the Megaports Initiative and the Secure Freight Initiative, also does mention that since the start of the Megaports Initiative in 2003, NNSA has completed installations at 27 ports including in Pakistan.
However a 2008 Congressional testimony on the initiatives by NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator David Huizenga suggests that Pakistan's enrolment in the initiatives significantly predates the Nuclear Security Summit.
The one notable absentee from the list of national or country-level commitments made at the just-concluded Nuclear Security Summit is Pakistan, which finds no mention in a White-House issued document titled “Highlights of National Commitments at the NSS”.
The document lists commitments of 30 countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency, including India's commitment “Announcing the creation of a Nuclear Energy Centre with a nuclear security component,” and China's commitment “Announce cooperation on nuclear security Centre of Excellence”.
One mention of Pakistan's commitments came from President Obama himself, during a press conference at the close of the summit. Mr. Obama said: “Pakistan… announced new steps to strengthen port security and prevent nuclear smuggling.” This was a reference to the Megaports Initiative which aims to detect radioactive materials in containerised cargo. The National Nuclear Security Administration, responsible for the Megaports Initiative and the Secure Freight Initiative, also does mention that since the start of the Megaports Initiative in 2003, NNSA has completed installations at 27 ports including in Pakistan.
However a 2008 Congressional testimony on the initiatives by NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator David Huizenga suggests that Pakistan's enrolment in the initiatives significantly predates the Nuclear Security Summit.
Labels: Nuclear Security Summit, Pakistan's nuclear policy
# posted by Narayan Lakshman @ 4:32 PM 
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