Pakistan in focus at nuclear summit
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At the start of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Monday, a well-planned propaganda campaign against Pakistan to nail its reputation as proliferator is going on through media and at diplomatic level, questioning its ability to secure nuclear weapons from militants, experts warned.
"Through diplomacy, it is India that may remind the world about Pakistan's nuclear proliferation highlighting the rising insurgencies in the country," Dr. Ahsan Akhtar Naz told Xinhua.
"As the reports are coming, India is busy to activate its lobby to demand restrictions imposed on Pakistan's nuclear program," said Naz, a professor at Punjab University Lahore.
Addressing the summit among 47 heads of states, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Monday that Pakistan seeks access to civil nuclear technology and denying a deal that the U.S. has already offered to India would be discriminatory.
In a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday conveyed his country's concerns over American military aid to Pakistan and also discussed issues related to Pakistan's nuclear program.
"India already has planned to organize a move to impose restrictions on Pakistan's nuclear program but it is hard to do so because of Pakistan's roll in the war against terrorism," said Dr. Shireen Mazari, a veteran journalist.
It is evident that Pakistan's efforts and abilities to secure its nuclear program through National Command Authority will be tested in the summit, she said.
Before his departure, Gilani held consultations with many authorities including Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in preparation for the summit.
"Ironically, despite having a massive amount of published data on India's proliferation record, the Pakistan government has failed to escalate a counter offensive before Summit," said Mazari.
"After a long period of technical pressures on Pakistan by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as I observe, it is the first time a political platform which brings a number of states critical of Pakistan's nuclear program together to target Pakistan, " She added.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman has said that India and even all other concerned countries know full well about the security of Pakistan's strategic assets.
"It's out of question if some one says Pakistani material or nuclear technology could fall into the hands of the militants who are hiding to save their lives," said Abdul Basit.
In spite of the acknowledgment of Pakistan's extensive nuclear security set-up by many U.S. responsible authorities, suspicious noises are coming out of U.S. think-tanks in Washington that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are under threat from non-state actors.
"We are surprised to listen from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the U.S. is seeking to limit Pakistan and India's nukes whereas U.S. itself is directly aiding India's increased nuclear weapons production through the 123 Agreement," Naseem Anwar, a retired Pakistani diplomat told Xinhua.
"Statement by Clinton even after knowing that India has had a few problems with missing fissile material and nuclear radiation leaks, and Pakistan's record on these fronts are completely faultless, hints clearly that U.S. must intend to focus on Pakistan," said Anwar.
"This summit is actually a drama of the White House to explain why it has invited Pakistan to the summit, actually an opportunity to handover Pakistan its so-called proliferation record." he added.
U.S. newspapers are also not missing to target Pakistan.
"Three months ago, American intelligence officials examining satellite photographs of Pakistani nuclear facilities saw the first wisps of steam from the cooling towers of a new nuclear reactor," The New York Times said in a lead story on Monday.
"It was one of three plants being constructed to make fuel for a second generation of nuclear arms," said the paper, without giving the location of the plant, nor quoting any official source.
"I feel confident that Pakistan has secured its nuclear weapons, I am concerned about nuclear security all around the world, not just in Pakistan but everywhere," said Obama after meeting with Gilani.
"One of my biggest concerns has to do with the loose nuclear materials that are still floating out there," he added.
It is expected that a commitment may be taken from all summit participants to secure their nuclear materials within four years.
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