PALS in Pakistan Part Two - Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal
Pakistan's current nuclear security situation is uncertain.
While the weapons are in secure storage areas for the present,
their safety in a scenario in which Musharraf's government
crumbled would be at risk (Mufson). Even assuming Musharraf
retains power, the potential for theft of one of their weapons
is not far-fetched. A significant portion of the nuclear
scientists employed in Pakistan's nuclear program is believed to
be Islamic fundamentalists who had maintained strong ties with
the Taliban government (Mufson). This could potentially lead to
a weapon either being hijacked using insider information or
smuggled out of the country to a terrorist network. Other fears
include a rogue commander ordering their use during a
confrontation with India, independent groups storming one of the
military sites where the weapons are stored, or a military
mutiny (Bidwai). Pakistan's military is rumored to be splintered
among a variety of factions, some of which are sympathetic to
extremist Muslim groups (Kampani). While specific knowledge
about whether or not Pakistan has PALS is unclear (at times
Pakistani officials have given conflicting statements about this
specific issue), it is generally believed that the weapons
probably have no password systems and at best possess very
primitive ones (Bidwai). The most recent comments from Pakistani
officials on the matter come from General Kidwai, who told
visiting scholars from an Italian research institute that
Pakistan does not possess any PALS or similar encoding systems
(Cotta-Ramusino and Martellini). This same delegation found that
the only significant security restriction to prevent
unauthorized nuclear use was a "3-men rule" that required the
concurrent agreement of 3 people on the decision to use the
weapon.