India Diverting Imported Nuclear Fuel To Make Weapons: Pakistan Claims

Pakistan alleged India of diverting imported nuclear materials acquired under Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver to make weapons.

“Pakistan has been underscoring for decades the risks of diversion by India of imported nuclear fuel, equipment and technology, received pursuant to civil nuclear cooperation agreements and the 2008 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters Friday.

"The concerns over diversion are neither new nor unfounded. India enjoys the rare distinction of diverting nuclear material, obtained on its peaceful use commitment, to its nuclear weapons programme," he said.

"The past and potential misuse of nuclear materials by India entails not only serious issues of nuclear proliferation but also carry grave implications for strategic stability in South Asia and national security of Pakistan."

He said media reports and papers substantiate an otherwise largely "ignored fact" that India's nuclear weapons programme is the fastest growing in the world.

Talking about a paper recently released by Harvard Kennedy School, he said that this paper and other several reports corroborate growing concerns related to the use of nuclear material acquired by India from abroad in its existing and future unsafeguarded nuclear reactors, plants and facilities for development of nuclear weapons.

"The recent Belfer paper inter alia concludes that India has accumulated nuclear material for over 2600 nuclear weapons," he said.

According to a study published by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its 2016 annual nuclear forces data, Pakistan still has higher number of nuclear warheads than India and also beats Israel and North Korea.

As per the SIPRI data, Pakistan is believed to have 110-130 nuclear warheads. On the contrary, India is said to have about 100-120 nuclear warheads.