According to the German government, Pakistan has heightened its efforts to illegally obtain advanced technology used in nuclear, biological and chemical weapons(NBC), says a report published in the Hindustan Times. Many legislatures of the left party in German parliamentary group had raised a question regarding this. The answer the the same was communicated by the German government in an official reply earlier this month.
The response from the German government fits accurately to the concerns raised by the German Intelligence agency, Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) in 2018. The intelligence agency had said that there had been a “steep increase” in Pakistan’s attempts to secretly gain advanced nuclear technology in Germany and other Western countries. The report by the intelligence service also added that Pakistan which currently holds 130 to 140 nuclear warheads has plans to augment their nuclear arsenal to 250 atomic weapons by 2025.
In addition to this, the report highlights the significant fact of Pakistan being a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and associated security agreements. Along with this, the report underscores Pakistan’s “extensive military nuclear and carrier technology programme directed against the ‘arch-nemesis’ India”.
Dagdelen and four other MPs of the Left Party had written to the German government seeking information on quantitative and qualitative changes since 2010 in attempts by foreign countries to illegally acquire goods required for the research and manufacture of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons and carrier systems from Germany, a country known for housing pioneer companies with unmatched expertise in the nuclear field.
The German government in its report said that since 2010 that countries such as Iran, whose activities had witnessed a significant reduction since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) came into force in January 2016, have adopted “some quantitative changes” in illegally pursuing advanced nuclear technology.
However, the report mentions that Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in proliferation-relevant procurement activities in recent years while adding “no quantitative change” was observed with regard to North Korea and Syria.
In the current scenario, several Pakistani leaders including PM Imran Khan had liberally issued threats of a nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan when the relations between the two countries nosedived in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 and subsequent bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
India, on the other hand, had maintained on all platforms and international forums that Jammu and Kashmir has and will always remain an integral part and no foreign country has a right to interfere in her internal matters.
