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 A number of developments took place in the month of April in the realm of nuclear weapons, which have a direct bearing on South Asia and merit discussion. Every U.S. President is obliged to review the U.S. Nuclear Policy at least once during his occupation of office. The current incumbent, President Barack Hussein Obama, presented his policy changes titled as the "Nuclear Posture Review" (NPR) on April 6, 2010. The salient features of his review comprise: giving top priority to fighting terrorism and proliferation, rather than deterring or responding to a nuclear attack by a foreign country; promising not to use atomic weapons against non-nuclear states, but issuing a stern warning for countries that ignore global non-proliferation rules; reducing the role of nuclear weapons in the U.S. security strategy; laying out a plan to expand conventional capabilities, relying on existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons for deterrence against nuclear powers like Russia and China, and focusing on preventing terrorists and rogue states from acquiring such weapons. On April 8, the U.S. President and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) at Prague. Under the treaty, each side within seven years would be barred from deploying more than 1,550 strategic warheads or 700 launchers, without the compulsion of eliminating the "surplus" weapons. Resultantly, even with the planned reductions there will be enough firepower on each side to devastate the world many times over.
Amidst the backslapping and self-praise, the subject of Iran's nuclear program remained prominent. Medvedev obliquely spelt out Russia's support for U.N. sanctions on Iran by stating that Tehran's "intransigence" cannot be ignored. A third development is the two-day Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) with 47 heads of state and government in Washington on April 12 to 13. The focus of the unprecedented meeting was on how to safeguard nuclear materials from terrorists. Pakistan was led by the newly appointed head of its Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, who made a surprising declaration that Pakistan has acquired advanced nuclear fuel cycle capability and can offer it to the rest of the world under IAEA safeguards. The offer, contained in a national statement presented at the summit reflected Islamabad's desire to gain recognition as a nuclear state. The Pakistani delegate also boldly admitted that the danger of Al-Qaeda or some other terrorist group trying to snatch nuclear assets and prepare a "dirty bomb" remained a clear and present danger. Pakistan's NCA had an effective security infrastructure in place to preclude and thwart any such attempt, yet Pakistan needed international support. The Pakistani Prime Minister repeated his request for a civil-nuclear deal with USA. on the same lines as the 123 Indo-U.S. agreement. Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, reportedly expressed his views on the sidelines of the NSS that India would have no objections to Pakistan signing a similar civil-nuclear deal with USA. Two questions emerge here: why is Pakistan insisting on getting into such an expensive deal, which besides economic considerations, would lead to making compromises on the behest of USA e.g. India abandoning the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline deal, is Pakistan only insisting on the deal with USA to "keep up with the Joneses syndrome" to copy India? The second aspect is why India had a sudden change of heart regarding Pakistan entering a deal similar to its 123 Agreement? Is it because of an exposé by a Pakistani English daily, copies of which were distributed to the western journalists during the NSS and which also inundated the blog and cyberspace, internationally. The daily made the startling disclosure that more than 80% of India's nuclear and missile infrastructure is located in the insurgency-hit areas or extremists' dominated region. Growing Maoist insurgency, Naxal dominance in India's Red Corridor ring alarm bells across the globe with regard to India's nuke safety. Could India have softened its stance on Pakistan to deflect criticism towards itself?
Coming back to the NPR, which promises not to use atomic weapons against non-nuclear states, but issues a stern warning for countries that ignore global non-proliferation rules, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that there is no such commitment regarding Iran and North Korea. Tehran, which was not invited to the NSS, reacted sharply to the U.S. threat of the use of nuclear weapons against the duo. Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad accused the Barack Obama administration of nuclear duplicity and being more warmongering than the predecessor administration of George W Bush. Tehran organized its own disarmament moot on April 17 & 18, with the theme: "Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for No One", where consensus was achieved on the extent of the support for basic ideals of nuclear disarmament and non-discriminatory approaches to non-proliferation and the right of all states to peaceful nuclear energy development. As expected, the Indian DG for Disarmament threw a tantrum and walked off with a copy of his speech because he objected to being the last speaker on day one in the Plenary.
Iran may not be a part of South Asia but its close proximity and if it is to become a target of U.S.-Israeli attacks, spell doom and gloom for South Asian states. President Barrack Obama was candid in endorsing his satisfaction regarding the security of Pakistan's nukes and admitting that other states have been guilty of nuclear proliferation in the past. An Op-Ed titled: 'Grant Smith: America's Loose Nukes in Israel' by Grant Smith, which hit the Press during the NSS was also a revelation. However, the glaring absence of the Israeli Prime Minister from the NSS and deliberately targeting Iran ring bells of concern in the South Asian region. Despite the U.S. President's positive comments regarding Pakistan's nukes and the visible bonhomie with the Pakistani delegation, the U.S. media did not spare any effort to embarrass Pakistan. Take for example, the April 3 Wall Street Journal story, 'Iranian firm got parts to enrich uranium: report', republished by all leading U.S. dailies. According to the "exposé", the IAEA and Western intelligence agencies are investigating how an Iranian firm obtained critical valves and vacuum gauges to enrich uranium. The probe was launched after IAEA received an email on January 14 alleging that illicit goods were being sent to Iran in a "careful and secret" way, through an intermediary representing a Chinese company based near Shanghai. The email said Iran's Javedan Mehr Toos obtained the valves in recent weeks from Vikas Kumar Talwar, an intermediary representing Zheijiang Ouhai Trade Corp. of China, a subsidiary of the Wenzhou-based Jinzhou Group, the newspaper claimed. While Iran, China and Pakistan have been implicated, the nationality of the Indian origin Vikas Kumar Talwar has mysteriously not been specified.
If South Asia wants to emerge as a conflict free zone, India and Pakistan must sink their differences and mutually agree to tackle the issue of nuclear disarmament. As long as this sword of Damocles is hanging over our heads, there can be no let up for the impoverished masses of both nations and other nations with vested interest will continue to exploit us in our mad frenzy to arm ourselves and assure our own destruction.
S. M. Hali is a film producer and a practicing journalist. He has contributed over 2000 articles, produced 125 documentaries and hosts a TV talk show. He is currently based in Islamabad.
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