The Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) launched a book titled “Indian Unsafeguarded Nuclear Program: An Assessment,” authored by three Visiting Research Fellows at ISSI Adeela Azam, Ahmed Khan, Sameer Ali Khan and Syed Muhammad Ali from CISS on October 24, 2016. Speakers at the occasion included Dr. A.H. Nayyer an internationally known physicist, Dr. Ansar Pervez, former Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and Dr Naeem Ahmad Salik, Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Strategic Studies, Islamabad.
Welcome Remarks by Chairman ISSI
The Chairman ISSI, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood opened the event with his welcome remarks. He said that nuclear technology is dual use technology which can be used for peaceful purposes, as well as to make nuclear weapons. About nine states mastered that technology and developed nuclear weapons. India is also among the states to develop a nuclear programme and nuclear weapons. A large part of the Indian programme is unsafeguarded, but the international community has not raised any concerns over it. Moreover, he said that India’s non-proliferation record is not as clean as it claims. The most glaring example of its proliferation activity is the 1974 nuclear explosion, for which India diverted nuclear fuel from Canadian reactors supplied for peaceful purposes, to conduct its nuclear test. As such, India became the first country to divert peaceful nuclear resources towards weapons use. Interestingly, the Nuclear Suppliers Group was created in the wake of this explosion specifically aimed at preventing the diversion of civil nuclear technology for military purposes in future. India has also proliferated by indulging in illicit procurement of dual-use nuclear items, by leaking centrifuge know-how, and by running a poorly implemented national export control regime.
