Nuclear Weapons For Taliban: The World In Danger?

Hello defence lovers! Recently America’s former National Security advisor John Bolton said that the Taliban may obtain nuclear weapons from Pakistan. In this article we are going to analyse is this situation possible and if it is possible my everyone on a heart must be concerned about the situation. We will also discuss the possible solution to the problem.

In a conversation on WABC 770 radio station, former US national security advisor John Bolton said on Sunday that Taliban may obtain nuclear weapons from Pakistan.   

Bolton, who served under the then-President Donald Trump, criticised US President Joe Biden’s hasty military withdrawal from the war-torn Afghanistan.

As reported by Wion

Pakistan’s Atomic Programme

In order to understand the threat of the Taliban getting nuclear weapons, let us first look back at history to understand Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Pakistan Initially neither had the will to develop nuclear weapons, neither had the scientific expertise to do so. In the year 1974, when India executed operation Smiling Buddha, a Pakistani scientist of British Indian origin working in the Netherlands for Urenco (A British nuclear supplier firm), approached the Pakistani embassy in Hague and offered his expertise to help Pakistan build a nuclear weapon. This man was none other than the infamous Abdul Qadeer Khan. He was working as a senior technician in the Urenco group engaged in advanced uranium studies. Opportunistically he stole the nuclear enrichment technology from Urenco labs and fled to Pakistan where he formed Khan research laboratories and started the development of nuclear weapons. However, the blueprints that he stole from Urenco about the nuclear centrifuge which is used for nuclear enrichment were incomplete. So it took him and another scientist to copy the technology in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, India and Israel had intelligence about this development. According to some theories, RAW and Mossad had planned a joint operation to destroy]pakistan’s project 706 by eliminating key scientists like Abdul Khan. However, traitor Moraji Desai instead of giving clearance to RAW exposed this operation to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s then prime minister. The result was Pakistan was finally able to test its Nuclear weapon in 1983.

Pakistan’s Nuclear Poliferation

During Pakistan’s nuclear weapon development, Muhamad Gaddafi, Libya’s dictator provided Pakistan millions of dollars aid in the hope of getting the technology when developed. Abdul Khan, who by then started calling himself the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, smuggled the Uranium centrifuge technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea for cash. But eventually, he was caught and pardoned by then Pakistan’s dictator Parvez Musharaf. On February 4, 2004, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan appeared Pakistani television to apologize to his nation for leaking the stolen nuclear technology.

Thus Pakistan’s track record in nuclear proliferation is not clean. Due to Pakistan North Korea today has nuclear weapons and Iran is very close to developing them. Though Libya had also bought the technology but ended up signing the Non-Poliferation treaty which buried its nuclear Program. Hence it is not impossible for Pakistan to transfer its nuclear technology again to some other country.

Nuclear Weapons To Taliban?

In a Netflix series called “The Sacred Games,” a hypothetical situation was depicted where few terror organisations planned to blew up the entire Mumbai City with a 15 Kilo Ton nuclear bomb. Such a situation coming true would be the scariest nightmare of any nation.

Now if Pakistan smuggles some nuclear weapons to the Taliban, the world might face the danger of nuclear annihilation. Pakistan will definitely try to target India through the Taliban in that situation. In case of any misadventure, India will also retaliate with its full force which will trigger a nuclear war. Such a situation is horrible to imagine.

If the Taliban gets its hand on a nuclear device, not only India but the entire world is in danger. If Taliban-backed Alqaida can hit America right in its home with civilian airliners, then what they can do with nuclear weapons is beyond our imagination.

Hence it is very important to stop Pakistan from providing terrorist organisations with Nuclear weapons. However, Pakistan is sitting a ticking time bomb itself. The ISI is perhaps the world’s most dangerous terrorist organisation as it has its hand on nuclear triggers.

How Pakistan Can Be Stopped?

If Pakistani Generals are left with even some brains, they must realise that providing Taliban nuclear weapons is digging up its own grave. However right now blacklisting Pakistan in FATF should be the perfect move if it dares to smuggle nuclear weapons to the Taliban. More heavy UN sanctions (though evil China will never let it happen) can further complement the process. In such a situation Pakistan will be forced to check its terror financing to at least get out of the blacklist. However, there are even negative implications of this move. Pakistan might end up selling its nuclear technology to Turkey or other countries just for cash. The situation is very alarming as America’s former NSA’s statement can just not be ruled out.

Readers are most welcome to share their opinion in the comment sections. If you think there is any other way of stopping Pakistan from engaging in further nuclear proliferation, do mention it in the comments.