“Pakistan is a peace-loving nation. But was imposed war on it and Pakistan became the victim of other wars, for almost four decades. Pakistan suffered a loss of precious human lives and huge economic losses, due to War in the region. Yet Pakistan is a resilient nation and can survive under unsmooth environments too”.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan has declared his open policy of partner in peace with anyone anywhere and any time. But will no longer be a partner in any war, with anyone anywhere at any time.
Pakistan is spending its all energies, resources, and time, to restore its war-torn economy, society, and governance. As a result of the restoration of good governance, Pakistan got recognition as the “most improved country” on the worldwide nuclear materials security for 2020
According to the National Threat Initiative Nuclear Security Index report for 2020, the majority of improvements were in the Security and Control Measures category, which increased by 25 points, because of the passage of new regulations. The NTI Nuclear Security Index is a first-of-its-kind public benchmarking project of nuclear security conditions on a country-by-country basis in 176 countries.
An improvement was also witnessed in the Global Norms category, in which the ranking improved by one point. Pakistan’s improvements in the Security and Control Measures category are “significant” because “strengthened laws and regulations result in durable boosts in Pakistan’s score as well as provide sustainable security benefits”.
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan has steadily improved in this category over time with the passage of new regulations, improving by eight points in 2014, two points in 2016, and six points in 2018. “The country’s score in 2014 improved owing to new regulations for on-site physical protection. In 2016, it passed new cybersecurity regulations. In 2018, it improved its inside threat protections. “Pakistan’s newest regulations mark a much larger shift. Compared with other countries’ score improvements in the Security and Control Measures category, Pakistan’s increase of 25 points is the second-largest improvement of any country since the Index first launched in 2012.”
The same report also highlighted Pakistan’s ranking in other categories.
“Pakistan scores high (67-100) in Domestic Commitments and Capacity, medium (34-66) in both Security and Control Measures and Global Norms, and low (0-33) in Quantities and Sites, owing to its continued increases in quantities of weapons-usable nuclear materials, and low in Risk Environment.”
The report also identified the key steps required to fill existing gaps. These include requiring more stringent control and accounting measures, strengthening regulations on insider threat prevention, requiring security culture assessments, ratifying the International Convention for the Suppression of Nuclear Terrorism, and taking voluntary actions to support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Pakistan has emerged as a responsible state. Being a nuclear state, Pakistan understands its international obligations. Pakistan is extended its full cooperation with IAEA and all relevant organizations, treaties, and conventions. Pakistan is a mature state and respects the international community.
The leadership in Pakistan is taking all possible measures to follow global standards and bindings. The Government of Pakistan is trying its best to restore our traditional role in the international community, which we were playing before the 1980s, the Afghan-war era. Pakistan was a leading economy in this part of the world pre-Afghan-War and the GDP growth was highest in this whole region for consecutive many years. Afghan-War was imposed on Pakistan and we were victimized for almost four decades.
Pakistan has to work harder to recover the loss of four-decades, as well as to compete with the rest of the world. People of Pakistan are committed to work-hard and the Government of Pakistan is providing a conducive environment. It is believed the International community will support Pakistan at this crucial moment. Pakistan has the potential to contribute to the global community. If Pakistan is admitted to the Nuclear Supply Group (NSG), it may benefit Pakistan as well as a lot to the rest of the world. It is hoped that all the sensible nations extend their support for Pakistan to play a positive role in NSG.
Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.