In the annals of diplomacy, and now the war-on-terror, the USA’s continued overlooking of Pakistan’s dangerous role in proliferating nuclear arms within the country, and among rogue states, would remain a great mystery. A recent MSNBC report details more alarming news.
“Without any public U.S. reproach, Pakistan is building two of the developing world’s largest plutonium production reactors, which experts say could lead to improvements in the quantity and quality of the country’s nuclear arsenal, now estimated at 60 to 80 weapons.
“On the dusty plain 110 miles southwest of Islamabad, not far from an area controlled by the Taliban, two large new structures are rising, structures that in light of Pakistan’s internal troubles must be considered ominous for the stability of South Asia and, for that matter, the world.
” ‘Pakistan is really the only country rapidly building up its nuclear forces,’ says a U.S. intelligence official. Moreover, he and other U.S. officials say, there long have been concerns about those who run the facility where the reactors are being built near the town of Khushab.
“They note that a month before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Khushab’s former director met with Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and offered a nuclear weapons tutorial around an Afghanistan campfire.
“Then there are the billions in U.S. economic and military aid that have permitted Pakistan’s military to divert resources to nuclear and other weapons projects.” More here…
Now some important questions? Why did USA kept silent for years when Abdul Qadeer Khan, described as Father of Pakistan Nuclear bomb, pedalled nuclear technology to rogue states (with open support from Pakistan government).
In 2004 Qadeer Khan admitted to hawking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. (See here…)
For my earlier post on Abdul Qadeer Khan please click here…
Is the USA silent because taking on Pakistan on this issue would endanger its delicate relationship with China, which has supplied the nuclear technology to Pakistan? Are there business interests within the USA that gain from proliferation of nuclear arms?
What are the implications of all this with the Taliban gaining ground?
Latest reports suggest that there is a looming refugee crisis in Pakistan. Thousands of families have begun fleeing from an army offensive against Taliban militants in the Shamuzai area of Pakistan’s Swat Valley yesterday. More than half a million refugees have been registered, reports The Independent.
“Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring out of Swat and the surrounding neighbourhoods as the military and the government of President Asif Ali Zardari – under intense pressure from Washington – move to drive the Taliban out from what, until two years ago, was a largely peaceful region.
“Aid officials say that at this point, the overwhelming majority of the displaced – 428,789 of the 510,496 registered by the authorities since 2 May – are staying with relatives or friends or else in rented rooms.” More here…
Meanwhile in Afghanistan there are no indications that Obama administration would leave the suicidal path which the Bush administration had been following. Obama administration seems to be opting for cosmetic changes. (See here…)
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.