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KEEPING PAKISTAN'S NUKES EXTREMIST-FREE

Russ Wellen

Asia Times, January 15, 2009

Never mind loose nukes, what if a whole nuclear program gets loose?

In the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks last November, war has thus far been averted between India and Pakistan. Nevertheless, India speaks of "surgical strikes" and Pakistan has moved troops from its western border with Afghanistan to its eastern with India, where they're reported to be in a high state of alert.

Remaining vigilant is also sound advice for the rest of the world when it comes to India and Pakistan. Both states refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and later embarked on their own programs. As if to prove the folly of both courses of action, they came dangerously close to nuclear war during their 2002 standoff. But another problem, equally troublesome, persists.

It's common knowledge that the former states of the Soviet Union suffer an ongoing threat from the theft of loose nukes. India and Pakistan, however, face the theft of their entire program.

India's nuclear weapons aren't usually considered at risk. But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sometimes acts as apologists for Hindutva extremists, such as those who staged the 2002 Gujarat riots. Who's to say that the next time the BJP is in power the prime minister will be strong enough to resist the importunities of Hindutva leader K S Sudarshan? His recent pronouncements about nuclear war were remarkably cavalier.

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