nuclear-news

Dangers of China’s nuclear deal with Pakistan

Geologists say that Karachi lies on a fault line. Rights activists have already voiced concerns about the safety of the ageing Karachi Nuclear Power Plant and the unpreparedness on the part of the authorities to cope with an unlikely nuclear catastrophe. They say that the possibility of an atomic disaster in a city with a population of 18 million people cannot be ruled out

Sino-Pakistani nuclear deal: A risky affair, DW 26 Dec 13 China has promised to finance the construction of two nuclear power reactors in Pakistan. Critics say that Beijing’s atomic deal with Islamabad is not a good idea considering Pakistan’s history of proliferation. Pakistani officials confirmed Tuesday, December 24, that the China National Nuclear Cooperation (CNNC) had promised to grant their country a loan of 6.5 billion dollars to fund a major atomic power project in the country’s southern port city of Karachi. Pakistan’s Energy Ministry officials told the news agency Reuters that China had also waived a 250,000-dollar insurance premium on the loan…….

The United States signed a civilian nuclear deal with India in 2008, irking both Beijing and Islamabad. Pakistan demanded a similar deal with the US, but Islamabad’s biggest military financer refused it due to the Muslim-majority country’s nuclear-proliferation history.

In 2004, the “father” of the country’s nuclear bomb, Dr. A.Q. Khan, confessed to selling nuclear technology to North Korea and Iran. Khan was removed from his post as head of the country’s nuclear program by former military dictator and President Pervez Musharraf in 2001. Despite that, Pakistan claims both its military and civilian nuclear programs are under strict control and are safe.

Neither Pakistan nor India have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which discourages major atomic powers from entering a civilian nuclear partnership with them. The US nevertheless struck a civilian nuclear deal with India ignoring the (NPT)……..

Concerns are not totally baseless

“Nuclear programs are never safe. On the one hand there is perhaps too much hype about the Pakistani nuclear program in Western media, on the other there is genuine concern,” London-based Pakistani journalist and researcher Farooq Sulehria told DW. “The Talibanization of the Pakistan military is something we can’t overlook. What if there is an internal Taliban takeover of the nuclear assets?” Sulehria speculated.

Sulehria’s concerns are probably justified. The Taliban militants have proven time and again that they are capable of attacking not only civilians but also military bases. ……

Zain-ul-Abideen, a social activist and a Karachi resident, told DW that the new nuclear plants had more risks than benefits and that the citizens should oppose their construction. …….

Geologists say that Karachi lies on a fault line. Rights activists have already voiced concerns about the safety of the ageing Karachi Nuclear Power Plant and the unpreparedness on the part of the authorities to cope with an unlikely nuclear catastrophe. They say that the possibility of an atomic disaster in a city with a population of 18 million people cannot be ruled out, and that the government must take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the nuclear reactors and its people.http://www.dw.de/sino-pakistani-nuclear-deal-a-risky-affair/a-17323830

December 26, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized