FREE BALOCHISTAN IS THE HOPE FOR PEACE
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program is an extension of its state ideology of Islamic expansionism, dominance, and militarism in South Asia. And like the state itself, Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is a source of terror and instability in the region. This is not a coincidence that Pakistan’s nuclear bomb has had been dubbed as the “Islamic Bomb” and each and every ballistic missile tested so far is named after Muslim invaders; Ghauri, Ghaznavi, and Abdali to name a few. Mard-e-Momin is a military tank, a term that means “Muslim Superman” and borrowed from Pakistan’s official state philosopher Allama Iqbal. The only objective of these Ghauris, Ghaznavis, and Momins is to hoist a Pakistani flag over New Delhi. This is the Pakistani military mindset that has remained unchanged over the last six decades.
Twelve years ago, on May 28, 1998 Pakistan successfully conducted its first nuclear test in the Chagai hills in Balochistan. Exactly, a year later on May 8, 1999 Pakistan army’s Special Forces had crossed the Line of Control and entered the Indian Administered Kashmir to secure the Kargil heights. The Kargil War as we know it today was the brainchild of General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff and Lt. General Mohammed Aziz, the Chief of General Staff. The motive behind the operation was to help in internationalizing the Kashmir issue and forcing India militarily to resolve the longstanding dispute on the terms and conditions favouring Pakistan’s Kashmir policy. It is believed that the planning for the operation, by Pakistan, may have occurred about as early as the autumn of 1998. As the Kargil drama unfolded in the weeks that followed, India had moved five infantry divisions, five independent brigades and forty-four battalions of paramilitary troops to Kashmir. The total Indian troop strength in the region had reached 730,000. The build-up included the deployment of around 60 frontline aircraft. The conflict was resolved after heavy casualties from sides and with mounting international pressure, especially from the U.S. Kargil will be remembered not only for its military misadventure by Pakistan but as a real possibility of nuclear war in South Asia.
2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff, was the second major military standoff between India and Pakistan following the successful nuclear tests conducted by both the countries in 1998. On the morning of December 13, 2001, a group of five armed men attacked the Indian Parliament in New Delhi. The terrorist attack was blamed on LeT and JeM, the two Pakistan-based militant groups backed by Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI. By January 2002, India had mobilized around 500,000 troops and three armored divisions on the Pakistani border concentrated along the LoC in Kashmir. Pakistan responded like-wise, deploying around 120,000 troops to that region. This was the largest build-up on the Subcontinent since the 1971 war between the two countries. As the world looked upon with serious concerns for a nuclear catastrophe, pressure mounted on the nuclear rivals from all corners including United States and the UN to exercise retrain and attempts were made to defuse the situation.
The Kargil War and the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff shall always remain as important reminders in the annals of military history of the Subcontinent that the possibility of a nuclear disaster is real and the signs are all over the place.
The dilemma with Pakistan today is that the very ideology that created the state based on Islamic identity has become its mortal enemy. The Pakistani nuclear arsenal supposedly developed to save the state from an “infidel” India is being challenged by Islamic extremism and a wave of suicide bombings from within. India-focused Pakistani military at present is deeply entangled in the web of its own creation, fighting a war against its own people in North Waziristan where nuclear bombs are not only useless as a weapon of deterrence but these strategic crown jewels need to be safeguarded from falling into the wrong hands. Twelve years after the first nuclear test in the Chagai hills, Pakistan’s military is less capable of defending the state and its institutions.
The study commissioned by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and released by Harvard University’s Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs found that Pakistan faces formidable risks in safeguarding its nuclear warheads. The study states, “While acknowledging substantial security improvements in the last few years, the study notes that the danger [to the nuclear program] persists from nuclear insiders with extremist sympathies, al-Qaida or Taliban outsider attacks, and a weak state.”
In fact, the history of recent developments in Pakistan shows that all the factors mentioned in the report is correct plus a couple of extra ones could be added to it. I believe that there is a substantial possibility of an accidental nuclear war between India and Pakistan, which came so close to becoming a reality in 1999 and 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff. Yet, the most potent case against Pakistan’s nuclear program is that the bomb is already in the wrong hands thanks to Dr. A. Q. Khan’s Network and his nuclear business deals with Iran, Libya, and North Korea. Documents provided by Iran to U.N. nuclear inspectors in November 2003 have exposed the outlines of a vast, secret procurement network that successfully acquired thousands of sensitive parts and tools from numerous countries over a 17-year period. Pakistani individuals and companies are strongly implicated as sources of key blueprints, technical guidance, and equipment for a pilot uranium-enrichment plant. The serious nature of the discoveries prompted a decision by Pakistan to detain three of its top nuclear scientists for several days of questioning, with U.S. intelligence experts allowed to assist. Of course, Pakistan continues to insist that it never wittingly provided nuclear assistance to Iran or anyone else. Pakistan claims that the Khan Nuclear Network has been dismantled after the “grounding” of the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb for his bad business behaviour but access to him for any further investigation by the U.S. experts has been denied.
Pakistan is the only country in the world where the al-Qaida, the Taliban, and the nuclear bomb exist within a radius of 100 kilometers. The terrorists who are seeking a nuclear device won’t even need a visa or take an international flight to acquire their goals. According to a report by Shaun Gregory, director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit, University of Bradford, Pakistan’s nuclear facilities have been attacked at least three times by home-grown extremists over the last 2-3 years. The incidents include an attack on a nuclear missile storage facility at Sargodha on November 1, 2007, a homicide bombing at the nuclear airbase at Kamra on December 10, 2007, and an attack at the Wah Cantonment Ordinance Complex, widely understood to be one of Pakistan’s main nuclear weapons assembly sites. In addition to that Pakistan is facing a wave of terrorist attacks including suicide bombings at the sensitive security facilities. In October 2009 Pakistan army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi came under attack by the Taliban militants killing six military personnel including an army brigadier and a lieutenant-colonel. The forces that are supposedly responsible for safeguarding the nuclear arsenal are not safe themselves from attacks by the Islamic militants.
I would also like to draw your attention to Balochistan, the test site for nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles by the Pakistani army. Balochistan is an occupied land, forcefully annexed by the Pakistani military in 1948. People of Balochistan, for the last six decades, are fighting for their right to become an independent nation. The Baloch are a secular and peace-loving nation, opposed to wars with neighbours and Weapons of Mass Destruction. We strongly believe that our freedom from the Islamic state of Pakistan will develop a new balance in the region that will favour an end to global terrorism, nuclear disasters, and wars. Liberated Balochistan is the only hope for a world free from nuclear terrorism.
Zaffar Baloch
President,
Baloch Human Rights Council of Canada
Washington D.C., U.S
May 28, 2010
Press Conference on Pakistan Nuclear Program
By American Friends of Balochistan
