Boost capacity building

THREAT OF NUCLEAR TERROR

The recent European Union (EU)-India summit held in Brussels in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks had more to focus on the escalation in international terrorism than on the economic cooperation policy matters.

On his arrival in Belgium, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Maelbeek metro station to pay homage to the victims of the terror attack. Europe has been in the terrorists’ crosshair for long. It has now emerged that the terrorists were planning to set off a ‘dirty bomb’ by coercing a nuclear scientist from Brussels.

The scattered nuclear stockpile/ waste left behind by the Soviet Union after its breakup had raised the hackles of the international community on the consequences of their falling into the hands of non-state actors.

Consequently, in June 1994, the Convention on Nuclear Safety was adopted in Vienna under the aegis of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The aim of the convention was to set a benchmark for the safety, quality assurance and emergency preparedness of nuclear energy installations. However, it moved slowly like a laden elephant!

The rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the emergence of Iran as a nuclear state and the continuous defiance of North Korea in building nuclear arsenal gave a new twist to the nuclear security threat. In the wake of terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid, London, Benghazi, Paris and now Brussels, the West has taken a serious view of the likelihood of nuclear terrorism. The concerns raised by India all along have now suddenly come to the forefront with the US and the EU feeling insecure.

The US, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, hosted the first Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in 2010. The fourth NSS, held in Washington on April 1, was attended by more than 50 heads of state, including PM Modi.

The primary function of the NSS has been to safeguard against nuclear terrorism by ensuring the safety and security of radioactive materials that could be used to make a dirty bomb. Besides plutonium and uranium, there are other radioactive materials like Cobalt-60 that are used by more than 130 countries for medical and allied purposes.

The recent summit had a special significance being the last one of President Obama. However, the absence of the Russian President Vladamir Putin lay to rest the hopes of any major policy breakthrough even before its commencement. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also missed the session on account of the Lahore terror attack. This is viewed with skepticism since Pakistan was expecting some serious nuclear security questions.

Nuclear weapons the world over are held by the military. The fear of their falling into the hands of terrorists is minimal unless it is state-sponsored terrorism. It is the radioactive materials used for medical and commercial purposes that pose a potent threat.

In addition, the other forms of nuclear terrorism that have been worrying the policy makers are cyber terrorism, threat to nuclear energy facilities, espionage and subversion of nuclear experts. The Brussels terror attack is a case in point in which it has been found that the movements of a nuclear scientist were being monitored by terrorists.

In April 2010, Cobalt-60, a radioactive waste, was dumped by the Delhi University to a scrap dealer located in Mayapuri, New Delhi. In December 2013, a Mexican truck carrying Cobalt-60 was stolen. The truck was later located 40 km away in a remote area.

In both the instances, authorities were found ill-equipped to handle the crisis. It took weeks to dispose of the radioactive material. The medical aid rendered to those exposed to the radiation was slow and tardy. After so many years, little has changed on the ground! There is a complete void in capacity building to handle such situations.

Concerns over Pakistan

India has been subjected to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism since the late 1980s. Pakistan had siphoned off the equipment; funds and resources provided by the US to propel al Qaeda against the erstwhile USSR forces in Afghanistan for their sinister designs against India. The US turned a Nelson’s eye towards it.

Today, the tiger on which Pakistan was riding has turned on its own mentor. The terrorist attacks on the General Headquarters of the Pakistan army in Rawalpindi in October 2009 and the attack on the naval aviation base at PNS Mehran near Karachi in May 2011, have raised serious concerns in the international community on the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets/material.

On the Indian front, the key issues are that both our inimical neighbours are nuclear powers. Pakistan has been perpetrating terrorism against India through the modicum of various terrorist organisations incubating in the country. It has been covertly helped by China in their nuclear and missile programmes. This makes the Indian sub-continent extremely vulnerable to nuclear terrorism. The involvement of the Pakistan army in terrorist activities further compounds the nuclear safety in the region and to international peace and security.

The participation of PM Modi in the recent NSS is a positive step in diplomacy and for the country’s nuclear security needs. It would go a long way in enhancing the possibilities of formalising our entry into the international nuclear club.

India should focus on capacity building to pre-empt nuclear terror strikes through real time intelligence in consort with the international intelligence agencies. We must have the capability for speedy isolation/ sanitisation and removal of nuclear waste from the affected area. All metros and select cities need to have the requisite medical resources to handle this threat.

The plans must be prepared and coordinated under the aegis of Indian Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) in conjunction with other organisations holding the equipment and trained manpower. Let us not wait for terrorist attacks of the kind in Paris and Brussels to usher change!

(The writer is a New Delhi-based strategy and security analyst)