American Concerns Over Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons and Pakistan's Response

In the wake of 9/11, it was generally recognized that the terrorists want to create a mass level of panic, chaos and destruction. As for the American perception, it is believed that terrorists want to kill Americans in large numbers. The U.S scholars and experts concluded that the best way for terrorist to do so would be Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMDs).

Hence a new dimension of ‘Nuclear Terrorism’ was added to the U.S Counter Terrorism Strategy. U.S scholars recognized that potential dangers emerge from terrorists’ acquisition of nuclear weapons, sabotage of nuclear facility, theft of nuclear materials and radioactive sources for developing Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs) also known as dirty bomb.

A May 2004 report by Harvard University’s Project on Managing the Atom finds that with the necessary fissile materials a capable and well-organized terrorist group can make, deliver, and detonate at least a crude nuclear bomb capable of incinerating the heart of any major city in the world.

The question however was ‘from where the terrorists can acquire the nuclear weapons, fissile material or radioactive sources? And the obvious conclusion emerged to be Pakistan.

Over the past few years there has been a ‘renewed’ emphasis in U.S that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan are vulnerable to terrorists or extremists. The instability, political turmoil and rise of extremism and militant activities in Pakistan all gave logical validity to American concerns. But the major blow came when reports emerged on A.Q. Khan’s proliferation walmart and on the meeting of the two former Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) scientists with Osama Bin Laden. These events assured many in U.S that terrorists are in fact looking to acquire WMDs and Pakistan’s proliferation activity may very well become the source of their acquisition.

What than has followed is a long campaign against Pakistan launched by some U.S Scholars, exploited by the media and politicized by the American officials and politicians. On the other hand Pakistan emphasizes on the safety and security of its weapons on the continued basis. It is these concerns of U.S and in their reaction, the responses from Pakistan, that the report attempts to discuss.

Full Report in PDF format (40 pages)