| |
Qaeda claim on Pak nukes propaganda
Comment
Dr Jassim Taqui
Deputy Editor (IR)
A fictitious Al-Qaeda statement claimed recently that it would use
Pak nuke against the United States. This is a new addition to news
leaks to the US media on US contingency plans to seize nuclear
weapons of Pakistan.
It seems that people forgot about the mechanism of protecting Pak
strategic assets and Pakistan’s strategic doctrine. The doctrine is
based on the principle of minimum credible nuclear deterrence to
deter all forms of external aggression. Additionally, the official
doctrine is using nuclear posture to preserve territorial integrity
against Indian attack, prevent military escalation, and counter its
Indian conventional superiority.
Pakistan has also pledged no-first-use against non-nuclear-weapon
states, but has not ruled out first-use against a nuclear-armed
aggressor that attacks Pakistan.
Strategists have definitely addressed issues of survivability
through second strike capability, hard and deeply buried storage and
launch facilities, road-mobile missiles, air defences around
strategic sites, and concealment measures.
Pakistan’s command and control over its nuclear weapons is
compartmentalized and includes strict operational security. The
government’s command and control system is based on “C4I2SR”
(command, control, communication, computers, intelligence,
information, surveillance and reconnaissance). Islamabad’s Strategic
Command Organization has a three-tiered structure, consisting of the
National Command Authority (NCA), the Strategic Plans Division (SPD),
and the Strategic Forces Commands.
The NCA supervises the functions and administration of all of
Pakistan’s organizations involved in nuclear weapons research,
development, and employment, as well as the military services that
operate the strategic forces.
The President is Chairperson of the NCA; the Prime Minister is the
Vice-Chairperson. The NCA also includes the chair of the joint
chiefs of staff, the Ministers of Defence, Interior, and Finance,
the Director General of the SPD, and the Commanders of the Army, Air
Force, and Navy. The final authority to launch a nuclear strike
requires consensus within the NCA; the Chairperson must cast the
final vote. The NCA is comprised of two committees, the Employment
Control Committee (ECC) and the Development Control Committee (DCC),
each of which includes a mix of civilian and military officials. The
ECC’s functions include establishing a command and control system
over the use of nuclear weapons.
The DCC “exercises technical, financial and administrative control
over all strategic organizations, including national laboratories
and research and development organizations associated with the
development and modernization of nuclear weapons.
The SPD is headed by a Director General from the Army and acts as
the secretariat for the NCA. The SPD’s functions include formulating
Islamabad’s nuclear policy, strategy, and doctrine; developing the
nuclear chain of command; and formulating operational plans at the
service level for the movement, deployment, and use of nuclear
weapons.
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are reportedly stored unassembled, with
the fissile core separated from the non-nuclear explosives. These
components are stored separately from delivery vehicles.
As the United States prepared to launch an attack on the Afghan
Taliban after September 11, 2001, former President Musharraf ordered
that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal be redeployed to “at least six
secret new locations.”
This action came at a time of uncertainly about the future of the
region, including the direction of U.S.-Pakistan relations. The
leadership was uncertain whether the U.S. would decide to conduct
military strikes against Pakistan’s nuclear assets if government did
not assist the United States against the Taliban. Indeed, President
Musharraf cited protection of Pakistan’s nuclear and missile assets
as one of the reasons for Islamabad’s dramatic policy shift.
Pakistan has developed PALs (Permissive Action Links) for warheads.
PALs require a code to be entered before a weapon can be detonated.
The system requires that at least two, and perhaps three, people
authenticate launch codes for nuclear weapons. Security at nuclear
sites in Islamabad is the responsibility of a 10,000 member security
force, commanded by a two-star general.
With these oversimplified facts, the fictitious Al-Qaeda and its
supporters in some section of the media stand exposed. In no way the
primitive Al-Qaeda or its ilk can ever dream of even locating the
sites of Pak nukes. |
