Author:
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: March 6, 2003
Pakistan has been moving its nuclear
arsenal frequently in recent times. It cold lead to a danger of these weapons
falling into the hands of terrorists, a leading US nuclear expert said
today. Ever since the September 11 terror attacks in US, Pakistan President
Pervez Musharraf has been moving his nuclear weapons frequently for fear
of US or Indian strikes, visiting US expert Scot D Sagan said.
He said such frequent movements
of nuclear weapons, particularly in a country like Pakistan where Al Qaeda
supporters were still inside and outside the Pakistan army made these warheads
more vulnerable to terrorists snatch. Advocating that India and Pakistan
should move away from nuclear brinkmanship, he and another leading US nuclear
expert Ashley Tellis termed New Delhi's pronouncement of use of nuclear
option in case of being attacked by chemical and biological weapons as
“significant switch” from the no first use doctrine.
Saying that the pronouncement almost
amounted to first use policy under certain conditions, Mr Sagan said the
real threat to India's security would be if these weapons fell into the
hands of terrorists.
Claiming the pronouncements made
early this year would now make Indian and US nuclear doctrine almost aligned,
the experts speaking at a seminar on 'Nuclear Weapons in South Asia' as
part of an ongoing wider Indo-US dialogue on nuclear and missile technology
said such shifts in nuclear policy would strengthen India's nuclear commitment.
- Agencies
