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Pakistan nuclear material among least secure in the world:~
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Pakistan nuclear material among least secure in the world: Report – The Express Tribune
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Report By AFP
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Published: January 12, 2012
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Pakistan second behind North Korea in list of countries with least secured nuclear material.
WASHINGTON:
A Nuclear Threat Initiative index ranks Pakistan second behind North Korea as having the least secure nuclear material, hence posing the most risk, experts said on Wednesday.
The index, which gave rankings on a scale of 100,
listed Australia as having the tightest security
controls among nations with nuclear material.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative, in a project led by
former US senator Sam Nunn and the Economist
Intelligence Unit, aims to draw attention to steps
that nations can take to ensure the safety of the
world's most destructive weapons.
Among 32 nations that possess at least one
kilogram of weapons-usable nuclear materials,
Australia was ranked as the most secure. It was
followed by European nations led by Hungary,
the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
On the bottom of the list, North Korea was
ranked as the least secure of its nuclear material,
edging out Pakistan. It also listed Iran, Vietnam
and India below the 50-point threshold.
"This is not about congratulating some countries
and chastising others. We are highlighting the
universal responsibility of states to secure the
world's most dangerous materials," said Nunn,
who has long been active on nuclear safety.
Nunn, a Democrat who represented Georgia in
the Senate from 1972 until early 1997, voiced
concern that the world had a "perfect storm" – an
ample supply of weapons-usable nuclear
materials and terrorists who want them.
"We know that to get the materials they need,
terrorists will go where the material is most
vulnerable. Global nuclear security is only as
strong as the weakest link in the chain," he said.
The index, timed ahead of the March summit on
nuclear security in South Korea, called for the
world to set benchmarks and to hold nations
accountable for nuclear safety.
It also urged nations to stop increasing stocks of
weapons-usable material and to make public their
security regulations.
North Korea has tested two nuclear bombs and in
2009 renounced a US-backed agreement on
denuclearization. The world has watched warily
since last month as young Kim Jong-Un takes
over as leader from his late father Kim Jong-Il.
Pakistan has vigorously defended its right to
nuclear weapons. The father of Pakistan's atomic
bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, admitted in 2004 that
he ran a nuclear black market selling secrets to
Iran, Libya and North Korea but later retracted his
remarks.
Australia does not have nuclear weapons and
supports their abolition. But it has a security
alliance with the United States and holds the
world's largest reserves of uranium.
.
Pakistan nuclear material among least secure in the world: Report – The Express Tribune
.
.
Report By AFP
.
Published: January 12, 2012
++
.
.
Pakistan second behind North Korea in list of countries with least secured nuclear material.
WASHINGTON:
A Nuclear Threat Initiative index ranks Pakistan second behind North Korea as having the least secure nuclear material, hence posing the most risk, experts said on Wednesday.
The index, which gave rankings on a scale of 100,
listed Australia as having the tightest security
controls among nations with nuclear material.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative, in a project led by
former US senator Sam Nunn and the Economist
Intelligence Unit, aims to draw attention to steps
that nations can take to ensure the safety of the
world's most destructive weapons.
Among 32 nations that possess at least one
kilogram of weapons-usable nuclear materials,
Australia was ranked as the most secure. It was
followed by European nations led by Hungary,
the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
On the bottom of the list, North Korea was
ranked as the least secure of its nuclear material,
edging out Pakistan. It also listed Iran, Vietnam
and India below the 50-point threshold.
"This is not about congratulating some countries
and chastising others. We are highlighting the
universal responsibility of states to secure the
world's most dangerous materials," said Nunn,
who has long been active on nuclear safety.
Nunn, a Democrat who represented Georgia in
the Senate from 1972 until early 1997, voiced
concern that the world had a "perfect storm" – an
ample supply of weapons-usable nuclear
materials and terrorists who want them.
"We know that to get the materials they need,
terrorists will go where the material is most
vulnerable. Global nuclear security is only as
strong as the weakest link in the chain," he said.
The index, timed ahead of the March summit on
nuclear security in South Korea, called for the
world to set benchmarks and to hold nations
accountable for nuclear safety.
It also urged nations to stop increasing stocks of
weapons-usable material and to make public their
security regulations.
North Korea has tested two nuclear bombs and in
2009 renounced a US-backed agreement on
denuclearization. The world has watched warily
since last month as young Kim Jong-Un takes
over as leader from his late father Kim Jong-Il.
Pakistan has vigorously defended its right to
nuclear weapons. The father of Pakistan's atomic
bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, admitted in 2004 that
he ran a nuclear black market selling secrets to
Iran, Libya and North Korea but later retracted his
remarks.
Australia does not have nuclear weapons and
supports their abolition. But it has a security
alliance with the United States and holds the
world's largest reserves of uranium.
