India on Saturday questioned the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear material and raised concerns about nuclear terrorism ahead of the second Nuclear Security Summit that will start in the South Korean capital on Monday.

Pakistan is said to have among the world’s fastest growing nuclear arsenals. As per an estimate by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the number could be anywhere between 150-200 nuclear warheads in a decade. India, meanwhile, has “very little confidence” that Pakistan’s nuclear material will stay safe and will not fall in to the hands of militant groups such as the al Qaeda, which could use it to manufacture dirty bombs.

While admitting that the security of Pakistan’s growing nuclear arsenal was “a big worry for us”, sources said that the real problem was “insider threat” wherein legitimate authorities might use the nuclear material for illegitimate purposes.

There is also much anticipation that the two leaders, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pak PM Yousuf Raza Gilani will be meeting on the sidelines of the two-day summit. However, Indian officials here remained tight-lipped on Saturday about a possible meeting between the two leaders of the sub-continent.

Singh arrived here on Saturday for a bilateral visit as well as to participate in the summit which will see an array of world leaders including US President Barack Obama converging here. They will be discussing, among other things, the crucial issue of the steps that can be taken to protect nuclear materials and facilities across the world from terror groups.

Pakistan is said to have among the world’s fastest growing nuclear arsenals. As per an estimate by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, this number could be anywhere between 150-200 nuclear warheads in a decade. India’s fears on the safety and security of its nuke programme and materials, therefore appear legitimate amidst concerns that these could fall into the hands of militant groups such as the Al Qaeda. This fissile material, in the hands of terrorists, can be used to manufacture dirty bombs, fears India.

As Pakistan’s nuke wherewithal grows, sources admitted that its security “is a big worry for us”. However, there appears to be an even more pressing concern for India. As sources noted, the real problem is the “insider threat” wherein nuke materials which may be in someone’s legitimate possession are then used for illegitimate purposes. In this regard, the example of Pak nuke scientist A.Q. Khan is often cited by experts wherein sensitive nuclear technology was allowed to proliferate in several other countries.

As for the security of India’s own nuclear materials, sources said that it was under “tight security” and “very, very secure”. They added for good measure that “the best security would come from a nuclear weapons free world, Importantly, there are no binding standards for countries to adhere to for securing their fissile materials or weapons.

While individual countries are not, as a norm, discussed at the nuke summit, the shadow of both Iran and North Korea are looming large over the summit which will see leaders from 57 nations putting their heads together on March 26 and 27. Neither country figures in the formal agenda or is participating in the summit.

The North Koreans had been extended an invite to participate by the host country. North Korea, however, responded by saying that the multilateral summit is “shameless sophism” on the part of South Korea and the US.

Regarding Iran, under watch by the world community as it proceeds with its uranium enrichment activities, sources noted that regardless of who is spoken to, nobody as yet had said that it has decided to make a nuclear weapon.

India, given its close ties with Iran, They also dismissed as “sheer madness” the plans to attack or have a military action against Iran while saying that the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is the right body to deal with its nuclear programme.
Prior to his participation in the summit, Mr Singh will be doing the official bilateral leg of his tour which kicks off here tomorrow morning. It begins with a visit to the National Cemetery and will be followed by a bilateral meeting. In stepping onto South Korean soil as the PM, Mr Singh has become the first Indian PM to do so in nearly two decades. In forging ahead with its engagement with South Korea, New Delhi will be aiming to bolster its trade and economic ties with South Korea.

These ties got a boost following the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)—it traiggered a 70 per cent increase in bilateral trade, crossing the 20.5 billion dollars mark in 2011.

The PM will also be meeting the Prime Ministers of Norway and Italy, Jens Stoltenberg and Mario Monti, respectively on Monday in what is described as “pull aside” meetings with the two leaders.

In normal circumstances, the meetings may not have been of much significance. But given the recent controversy over the shooting down of two Indian fishermen by two Italian marines on board merchant vessel Enrica Lexie and the abduction of two Italians in Odisha, these matters are expected to be discussed when Singh meets Monti.

In the case of Norway, the controversy over two Indian kids currently in the custody of the childcare services in that country was in the news for weeks till the mater took a curious turn earlier in the week.