Why is West after Pakistan’s nukes? by M.Aftab

Posted on February 3, 2008 by moinansari

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Why is West after Pakistan’s nukes?

M. Aftab

The answers, apprehensions or motives can be many. But let us explore them. Is it after Pakistani nukes because Pakistan is a Muslim country? Is it because it can be a danger to America’s great protégé — Israel, which is why the West dubs it as an “Islamic bomb”, although the nukes of other countries do not carry a religious tag or denomination? Is it because a nuclear-armed Pakistan can see in the eye of the West? Is it because Pakistanis, or their government, are too timid, or naive, or incompetent to swallow all kinds of Western accusations? Is it because, Islamabad rulers, even though pro-US, will let terrorists steal or snatch Pakistani nukes, and pout their own jobs at stake? Is it because Pakistanis are too pliable, and tolerate their arm-twisting without complaining?Why is the US — the biggest nuke maker, nuke owner and killers of thousands of innocent Japanese by nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and its Western allies, treating three countries — Pakistan, India and Israel, differently? Why so when they have exactly the same status by not being signatories to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT)? I do not wish to stretch the argument too far, but isn’t it a fact that Israel is surrounded by millions of Muslim “enemies”, ranging from Palestinian-Arab Christians and Muslims in Syria, Lebanon and the rest, who have been at war with Tel Aviv since it was created six decades ago. Doesn’t it owe its birth, in the heart of the Arab world, to Anglo-European-US conspiracy, which also had aimed at dispossessing Arabs and Palestinians of their own homeland and Muslim holy places?If under the American apprehensions and scenarios, anti-Israel Palestinians and Arabs, from whichever country or location, can attack Tel Aviv’s nuclear arsenals and steal or forcibly take away the Jewish bomb, who will stop them from exploding it in Israel? Is it a fact that, besides Pakistan, wherever there is an “Islamic bomb”, or even a false hint of it or suspicion of it popping up, the US and the West start a hue and cry? Take the alleged “Iranian bomb”. Isn’t it Israel alone that is allegedly “threatened” by Iran’s alleged bomb building? That is why Washington and its Western allies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all are hell-bent to stop it. Punish Iran and impose more and more sanctions.Washington is also deploying all its Muslim leaders and other “assets” to stop Iran from going nuclear that will “threaten” Israel, highly suspicious actions against a Muslim country. Who is next after Iran? Surely, it is Pakistan. On the other hand, why does Washington have such benign relations with India, tolerating its nukes and its vastly bigger and dangerous nuclear programme that started in 1974, forcing Pakistan to start a nuclear plan of its own or perish? Isn’t Washington going to provide India with all sorts of materials and equipment? Isn’t it helping India gain access to 45-member Nuclear Suppliers’ Group for the same purpose? Aren’t many insurgencies going on in various parts of India, which may lead to Indian terrorists stealing or snatching India’s nukes and use them against New Delhi or whosoever? Take the 60-year long Kashmiri freedom fight or insurgency in the Indian-occupied territory. Take Tripura, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and numerous other parts of India, places swarming with anti-New Delhi insurgencies.

The US and Western policies let their friends — Israel and India — get away with nuclear murder but continuously whip Pakistan because it is pliable and yet unreliable Muslim state. Where does Washington’s labeling of Pakistan as the “most allied of all allies” stand in spite of tons of our rulers’ tabedari? Since all these arguments are going to fall on deaf Western ears, one must look into what Pakistan already has on the ground and its repeated assurances of safety of its nukes to the US and the West. What I saw and heard just now was quite formidable. The nuclear programme, its security, safety and safeguards were laid bare at last Saturday’s briefing arranged for the foreign press at the headquarters of the Strategic Planning Division (SPD).

Lt. General (retd) Khalid Kidwai, head of the SPD that looks after Pakistani nukes, informed the press that some 10,000 soldiers, commanded by a two-star general, are protecting the nuclear facilities and assets, forming a well-defined and institutionalised command and control structure since February 2000. The command and control organisation is a multi-layered system, structurally grouped in three tiers: National Command Authority (NCA) at the top, assisted by Strategic Plans Division, and Strategic Forces Commands. The NCA is headed by the president, with the prime minister as its vice chairman, assisted by two committees — Employment Control Committee (ECC) and Development Control Committee (DCC). ECC includes ministers of foreign affairs, defence, interior and finance, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), and Chiefs of Staff of Army, Navy and Air Force. The DCC includes CJCSC, and chiefs of Staff Army, Navy and Air Force.

SPD’s task is to develop and manage Pakistan’s nuclear programme in all dimensions: operational, planning, weapons development, arms control and disarmament affairs. Specifically, SPD comprehensively handles formulation of the country’s nuclear policy, nuclear strategy and nuclear doctrine. It formulates short and long term force development strategy for the army, navy and air force within the ambit of national power potential, nuclear doctrine and arms control regimes. It undertakes measures for the safety, security of strategic assets in the short and