March 28, 2012
India warned that nuclear terrorism and clandestine proliferation will continue to pose serious threats as long as there are terrorists seeking access to atomic material and technologies for malicious purposes.
March 28, 2012
India warned that nuclear terrorism and clandestine proliferation will continue to pose serious threats as long as there are terrorists seeking access to atomic material and technologies for malicious purposes.
"Nuclear terrorism and clandestine proliferation continue to pose serious threats to international security," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told world leaders while addressing the second Nuclear Security Summit here.
He said an India-piloted resolution on measures to deny terrorists access to weapons of mass destruction had been adopted by consensus since 2002. Singh said it seeks enforcement of legal and regulatory measures against the proliferation of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons to non-state actors. "Nuclear terrorism will remain a potent threat as long as there are terrorists seeking to gain access to nuclear material and technologies for malicious purposes. India is acutely conscious of this threat," he said, without referring to any specific country.
However, world leaders are concerned over the safety of Pakistan's atomic weapons as it remains vulnerable because its atomic facilities are located in areas where "Taliban and al- Qaeda are more than capable of launching terrorist attacks". Also, Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has been accused by the West of running a clandestine proliferation ring. He had admitted to have provided nuclear technology to several countries, including North Korea.
Singh said the best guarantee for nuclear security is a world free from nuclear weapons, noting that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi put forward an Action Plan for nuclear disarmament in a time-bound framework almost 25 years ago. "This remains the most comprehensive and elaborate proposal to achieve this objective."
