NEW DELHI: The Indian government was aware that the United States wanted to secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal after the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Centre.
“The United States informed us sometime in October 2001 (after the 9/11 attack) that they were going to talk to Pakistan about the security of its nuclear stockpile,” acknowledged Brajesh Mishra who was National Security Adviser to the NDA government. But he denied that the US administration had sought any cooperation from India on this count, either then or later.
Mishra was reacting to a report in a leading American intelligence journal, Stratfor. The report claimed the Bush Administration delivered an ultimatum to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after 9/11 that unless he allowed US forces to take control of Pakistani nuclear facilities, Washington would have no choice but to destroy those facilities, possibly with India’s help.
While Stratfor has suggested there was a secret understanding between Musharraf and the US under which the latter took control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, sources in the intelligence community here refused to confirm this. Mishra maintained there was no more communication from the US administration after the first information.
India has not pursued the matter with the US, then or now, largely because it does not want to be seen as part of an effort to de-nuclearise Pakistan. However, the security establishment here is quite sanguine that there are no “loose nukes” in Pakistan.
A source in the intelligence establishment said Pakistani nuclear weapons were firmly under the control of the army and in no danger of falling into jihadi hands. The source said the government had reason to believe the US was monitoring the situation closely and would intervene if there was any danger to the nuclear stockpile.
