Pakistan Expanding Its Nuclear Capability

While the Taliban challenge to the government in Pakistan has grown, the country has been busy building two of the world’s largest nuclear reactors in an area not far from Taliban-controlled land. A researcher at New York University quoting analysts writes that, without the proper infrastructure needed for power generation or any proximity to the electrical grid, the reactors’ sole purpose could only be to expand Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Why Pakistan is pursuing greater nuclear weapon proliferation when the rest of the world is reducing its nuclear capabilities and when there is no clear enemy or threat to Pakistan’s security remains an open question for experts. But there are other troubling ramifications to this news: the author notes that the number of closet Islamists with access to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal remains unclear and the former director of the nuclear facility under question met with Osama bin Laden weeks before the Sept. 11attacks to discuss nuclear weapons technology. Moreover, the money the US government has overtly and covertly been providing to Islamabad has likely been funneled into these nuclear projects, yet Washington has raised no complaint. With the situation in Pakistan worsening each day as new risks are revealed, one wonders how long before greater international involvement becomes necessary. – YaleGlobal