And, yet, in his closing remarks, Obama put India in the same bracket as Pakistan, calling on both “to make sure that as they develop military doctrines, that they are not continually moving in the wrong direction”.
Advertisement
MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup reacted sharply on Monday to President Obama’s advise to India and Pakistan at the end of the recent Nuclear Security Summit.
During six years of worldwide meetings on nuclear security, which he initiated, the USA president said, “We’ve embraced a new type of thinking and a new type of action”.
The fourth Nuclear Security Summit finally concluded on April 1 in Washington.
Of the 2,734 nuclear incidents world-wide recorded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including five in India, “not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40 years old”, said Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry on the eve of Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
These events were heavily scripted by the USA, which decided on the invitation list, the outputs and crucially the agenda of the gatherings.
Yet it must be conceded that drawing global attention to the complex nuclear issue very early in his tenure was a courageous and hence commendable achievement for President Obama and it is appropriate that in his a year ago in office the subject is being re-visited.
Undeterred, North Korea only hours later fired a short-range missile into the sea and tried to jam Global Positioning System navigation signals in South Korea – precisely the kind of act that South Korean President Park Geun-hye had warned would trigger even tougher sanctions and more isolation. More countries are passing laws to implement the safety recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and there are global steps to bring into force the amended convention on the physical protection of nuclear material.
What is outstanding in this aspect is the newly-established Center of Excellence on Nuclear Security in Beijing, with a capacity of training about 2,000 nuclear security staff every year.
“The gist of the outcome of this summit is all countries should cooperate to minimize the risk”, he said, adding that there are several stages like prevention and response that need the engagement of the global community.
The two heads of state likewise agreed to increase cooperation between their countries, and effectively manage differences of opinion to expand common interests.
The US media, however, interpreted this statement as a reference to Pakistan.
Advertisement
As per a 2015 report of Carnegie Endowment and Stimson Centre, India has a stockpile of around 50 to 100 nuclear weapons, while Pakistan has about 100 to 120. “And that includes of pursuing the strategic security dialogue that provides a dedicated venue to exchange ideas on India’s intentions and defence needs and to discuss issues that they may have related to strategic stability”, Mr Earnest said. When the former Soviet Union imploded, it left behind the largest amounts of nuclear materials, stored and being used in the biggest number of plants and facilities spread across the biggest geographical area, with many vulnerable to theft and sabotage. It was only the unprecedented Peshawar attack of 2014 that jolted the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to negate the decades-old state policy of making a distinction between good and bad Taliban, and finally wage a full-fledged war against the previously fostered self-destructive alliance with extremist elements.
