After much speculation on social and print media on the atomic bomb of Pakistan, the Prime Minister as well Finance Minister assured the nation that no compromise would be carried out on the nuclear assets of Pakistan. The Prime Minister also said that Pakistan has not any kind of pressure about the nuclear programme. The Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while speaking to the Senate, said “no one can dictate to Pakistan what range of missiles or what kind of nuclear arsenal the country should have. It will be our decision as it is our national deterrence and we would have to maintain it”. Dar said that delay in the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not due to nuclear arsenal but the reason behind postponement is that IMF demands Pakistan that the commitment made by friendly countries in terms of financial assistance should be realized. Last month the Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grassi visited Pakistan and discussed the security measures that Pakistan has adopted for the safety of nuclear assets. India, Israel and some other states are continuously spreading negative propaganda about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear programme but as a matter of fact, the nuclear programme is considered one of the safest in the world and nobody, even the experts, can detect any security flaw in it. It is under the multi layers of security, which is jointly handled by various national institutions including Pak Army. Some so-called youtubers on the behest of some anti-state elements also made a negative note on the last month visit of IAE’s chief on social media. Nuclear assets of Pakistan are the matter of life and death for Pakistani people rather it is “jealously guarded” as the entire nation has given a lot of sacrifices for it. The country faced long years of load shedding but did not build any dam just to keep the nuclear programme alive. Every past government from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to the current regime, released ample amounts of funding for the continuity of the atomic programme by cutting Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) funds. It is also a fact that in many countries including India and Russia many incidents took place during the last four decades or so, that raised many questions on the security of nuclear programmes of that country. In this regard two incidents, one in India and another in Russia, were eye -openers for the world. One was the leakage of radioactive gas from Chernobyl, Russia in 1986. The international reports claimed that over the past two decades, over200 kilograms of nuclear and radioactive material has reportedly disappeared from Indian facilities. Frequent incidents of loss and theft of nuclear and radioactive materials in India indicate the failure of the nuclear security system at multiple levels. But by the grace of Almighty Allah not even a single incident occurred in Pakistan that showed any negligence on the part of the people at helm of affairs regarding safety and security of the atomic programme.
