Brussels: Pakistan’s nuclear programme raises concerns over the possible diffusion of sensitive technology, either intentionally or through accidents. Islamabad’s past links to illicit nuclear networks have damaged its non-proliferation credentials, contributing to continued international scrutiny of its nuclear governance, a report has stated.
“Pakistan’s nuclear programme has evolved with a pronounced and persistent military orientation that shapes every major decision related to fissile material production facilities and doctrinal choices. Its status outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has entrenched a security-driven approach where nuclear weapons are treated as the central pillar of national defence and regional deterrence. This has created serious concerns about how nuclear materials and technologies with dual-use properties are managed and about the long-term implications for regional stability,” a report in ‘European Times’ detailed.
According to the report, from the beginning, Pakistan’s leadership viewed nuclear capability as an existential necessity in the face of its larger neighbour and as a strategic equaliser in an asymmetrical security environment.
“Nuclear weapons were not embedded in a broad energy or industrial development plan but in a crisis-driven security narrative built around perceived external threats and historical grievances. Over time this narrative has translated into a pattern where expansion of warheads and delivery systems takes precedence over the cultivation of a robust civilian nuclear sector. The technical infrastructure of the programme has grown but largely in ways that primarily support weaponisation,” it highlighted.
The report noted that nuclear technology is inherently dual-use: the processes that enable the production of reactor fuel can also be redirected towards producing weapons-grade material. It noted that in Pakistan, military requirements have strongly influenced decisions on reactor design, enrichment and the management of the nuclear fuel cycle.
“Facilities that could in principle support civil energy generation are configured and operated in ways that optimise output of fissile material suitable for weapons, or that can be rapidly diverted for military use if strategic calculations demand it. This blurring of roles makes it difficult to separate civilian and military nuclear spheres in practice,” the report stated.
Highlighting the limited contribution of nuclear power to Pakistan’s overall energy needs, the report said this further pointed to the programme’s skewed orientation.
Despite persistent electricity shortages, Pakistan has failed to develop a large, integrated civilian nuclear sector capable of making a significant contribution to grid stability and industrial growth. Instead, investment and political attention have remained concentrated on defence programmes, missile development and warhead-related infrastructure.
As a result, nuclear technology that could have supported wider national development remains largely embedded in a framework of deterrence and prestige, the European Times mentioned.
(IANS)
