Pakistan Has Increased Efforts To Get Nuclear Technology By Illegal Means: Report

Pakistan’s activities to illegally obtain technology used in nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons is seeing a sharp increase, according to the German government. In an official reply to questions from lawmakers, the German government said, Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in proliferation-relevant procurement activities in recent years. According to a Hindustan Times report, the government said, "since 2010, there had been some quantitative changes in illegal procurement efforts by states such as Iran, whose activities had witnessed a significant reduction since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) came into force in January 2016.”

“By contrast, Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in proliferation-relevant procurement activities in recent years,” the government said according to the Hindustan Times.

In 2018, the BFV in its report had said, “There has been a massive increase in Pakistani procurement attempts both in Germany and in numerous other Western countries. The main focus is on goods that can be used in the field of nuclear technology. Accordingly, intensive efforts are to be expected in the future as well.”

Pakistan which currently has 130 to 140 nuclear weapons has plans to increase them to 250 atomic warheads by 2025, the report added.

Earlier, amid tensions with India, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said his county will not use nuclear weapons first. “There will be no first from our side ever,” Reuters quoted Khan as saying.

Imran Khan warned of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan amid the escalation of tensions between the two countries following India's move to abrogate Article 70 of the Constitution that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He had also blamed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for the current situation.

According to a recent study, published in the journal Science Advances, if India and Pakistan engaged in nuclear war, more than 100 million people are likely to die, followed by global mass starvation.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, looked at a war scenario that may occur between India and Pakistan in 2025. While both the neighbouring countries have waged several wars over Kashmir, they could come to possess a combined count of 400 to 500 nuclear weapons by 2025, the study noted. 

The researchers, including those from Rutgers University, found that the exploding nuclear weapons could release 16 to 36 million tons of soot -- tiny black carbon particles in smoke -- that could rise to the upper atmosphere and spread around the world within weeks. 

The soot, the researchers said, would absorb solar radiation, and heat up the air, boosting the smoke's swift rise. In the process, the study noted that the sunlight reaching the Earth would decline by 20 to 35 per cent, causing our planet's surface to cool by 2 to 5 degrees Celsius. 

Rainfall across the world may also reduce by 15 to 30 per cent, both of which could have larger regional impacts, the study noted. The researchers added that vegetation growth would decline globally by 15 to 30 per cent on land, and the oceans could see a productivity decline by 5 to 15 per cent.