Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The recurrent incidents of uranium thefts and smuggling in India have highlighted the alarming poor security arrangement of the Indian nuclear program.
The theft of nuclear material during the last two decades in India posed a serious threat of nuclear terrorism, necessitating action by the world powers to address the poor safety measures in the country, defence analysts maintained on Saturday.
Several uranium/radioactive substance theft incidents in the recent past took place in India, which indicated the presence of a black market for nuclear materials in India.
In 2021, 6.4 kilograms of uranium in Jharkhand and 7 kilograms of uranium in Maharashtra were confiscated by the Indian authorities.
On August 26, 2021, 250 kilograms of uranium variant – a highly radioactive and toxic substance – worth $573 million was confiscated in Kolkata, and two persons associated with Indian strategic organizations were arrested.
A container loaded with radioactive material was stolen from a highly secured research facility in Rajrappa in the Ramgarh district in December 2006.
According to experts, such incidents raised serious concerns over the safety and security standards of huge stockpiles of fissile material within India.
In 2008, police arrested five persons in the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya on charges of smuggling uranium ore. In 2009, Mumbai Crime Branch detained three people for illegally possessing 5 kilograms of depleted uranium.
On March 9, 2022, India accidentally fired a BrahMos missile that crashed into Mian Channu, Khanewal district of Punjab in Pakistan.
According to Arms Control Association’s report, Indian authorities had nabbed individuals on charges of illicit uranium trading.
“The incidents have raised concerns regarding what appears to be a growing nuclear security risk in the region,” it cautioned.
India’s nuclear doctrine a serious security threat
In a report, the Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research said that the recurring incidents of security lapses clearly indicated that India’s nuclear doctrine and security mechanism have serious loopholes, which should concern the international community.
“Moreover, if these lapses remain, they can continue to pose a devastating nuclear threat to the world. This enrichment material can land in the hands of non-state actors, particularly when India is already facing several insurgencies in its various areas,” it added.
The Indian Environmental Portal stated that a review of ‘unusual occurrences’ contained within the Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board’s annual reports revealed there had been 16 cases of misplacement, loss, or theft of radioactive sources since 2001 in which radioactive material made its way into the environment.
“These are not isolated incidents as the country’s history is replete with such evidence of possible involvement of national gangs in creating a black market for uranium trade,” several defence analysts opined.
The experts added that such incidents posed risks of nuclear exchange due to miscalculations between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
Such incidents have raised concerns about India, which emerged as a potential hotspot in the illegal trade of nuclear materials and technology vital for a malicious nuclear supply chain for non-state and state actors.
India is considered as one of the most vulnerable states in the world concerning nuclear safety and security.
“As a state with dozens of local movements and insurgencies, it is a matter of time when non-state actors succeed in acquiring sufficient fissile material that can be used in harming others,” they further commented.
They said India was channeling its civil nuclear program/technologies in defiance of international obligations for military purposes.
On the other hand, they maintained that Pakistan was committed to the objective of boosting nuclear security. It has been fully engaged with the global community to promote nuclear safety and security.
“As a Nuclear capable state, Pakistan very seriously takes its nuclear security responsibility. Nuclear security and safety in Pakistan are based on multiple layers and in-depth defence concepts. All of Pakistan’s export control laws are in accordance with international standards and the standards set by the NSG and other export control regimes,” the experts added.
