Ex-senator: US must rein in Pak nuclear command

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 28

Pakistan has three to four operational tactical command posts where nuclear weapons might or could be launched from, warns former senator Larry Pressler. 

The architect of the Pressler Amendment of 1985, the former lawmaker was speaking at the launch of his book ‘Neighbours in Arms’ here today. The Pressler Amendment had banned most economic and military assistance to Pakistan in the absence of an annual certification of non-possession of nuclear devices by it and halted the spread of nuclear weapons briefly in 90s. 

Pressler expressed concerns about the nuclear command structure in Pakistan that leaves it vulnerable to rogue elements. “India has a very clear line of authority. In the US, the President cannot alone launch nuclear weapons without the concurrence of more than a dozen people. We must get assurance from Pakistan that these tactical weapons are not unguarded or can work independently,” said the former senator. 

Agreeing with Pressler, RAW former chief Vikram Sood said the state and non-state ideologies were blurred in Pakistan. 

Pressler believes there is a shift in the White House’s Pakistan policy under President Donald Trump and chances of Islamabad being declared a sponsor of terror cannot be ruled out. But on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, he pessimistically said it might not really go much forward and might remain more of an arms deal.