Daily Times Editorial Nov 13, 2009

National Command Authority bill

A report of the standing committee on defence regarding the National Command Authority (NCA) bill 2007 has been laid before the National Assembly. The timing of the report’s presentation suggests to some observers the urgency of allaying the fears expressed by the Western media, veteran journalist Seymour Hersh’s piece in the New Yorker being only the latest significant case in point, regarding the safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. The greater concern is not about any external force gaining access to the arsenal. The apprehension being expressed concerns internal leakage of technology and/or the weapons themselves. The beneficiaries of such a hypothetical leakage, according to Western media reports, could be the terrorists operating within and around Pakistan.
The concerns of the Western media and even some governments have to be seen in the context of the track record of the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. The least likely scenario would be that a weapon/s could actually be spirited away by some inimical personnel. A nuclear weapon is not a piece of candy or a lollipop that can be secreted away in a pocket to be calmly taken away under the nose of tight security. Our weapons have been dispersed and rendered impossible to use without proper authorisation precisely to pre-empt any such possibility and even prevent the accidental use of these deadly weapons. The real apprehension in the minds of those fundamentally hostile to the existence of this capability is that the very personnel charged with the responsibility to ensure their security may be infected sufficiently by jihadi ideology to consider leaking vital information and/or equipment to the terrorists currently battling against the Pakistani state. From Musharraf onwards and downwards, officials in positions of high authority have been emphasising consistently that no such threat exists or will be allowed to rear its head. While knowledgeable US officials have been saying much the same thing, the Western media seems not to be inclined to let the facts stand in the way of a good story.
The proposed bill to give legal cover to the NCA would have the president as the ex-officio chairman of the Authority, with the prime minister as the ex-officio deputy chairman. The bill proposes to give retrospective cover to all acts by officials of the NCA committed before the bill becomes law. It seeks to institute vigilance not only against external threats but also to keep an eye on the officials and employees of the NCA to prevent any breach of security, which has been held punishable with a jail term extending up to 25 years.
Pakistan entered the nuclear arms race in the subcontinent to protect itself from the original author of this race, i.e. India. Its arsenal is defensive and confined to a deterrent role. Any sensible person would recoil with horror at the prospect of nuclear weapons being used in South Asia, the close proximity of the contending countries and their neighbours posing a critical threat to all in the unthinkable event of a nuclear exchange. US president Obama’s desire to see the world moving towards a nuclear weapons-free age is laudable, although given the hiatus strategic arms reduction talks have been in for years suggests it will be an uphill task. It would be in the interests of both Pakistan and India if the following steps were contemplated on the nuclear weapons issue. First, nuclear risk reduction, i.e. implementing systems to prevent the accidental triggering of these weapons of mass slaughter. Second, moving away, mutually, from expansion towards mutually agreed reductions. Third, the eventual abolition, along with the other nuclear powers, of these in practice unusable weapons. Until that desirable but difficult to achieve goal is at hand, the NCA bill serves to ensure the safety and security of Pakistan’s arsenal and hopefully allay Western apprehensions regarding this issue.