Norway raises alarm over exploitation of dual use technology by Pakistan to aid its nuclear programme

Norway on Monday raised alarm over unhindered exploitation of dual use technology by Pakistan to aid its nuclear programme.

According to a threat assessment report by the Norwegian security agencies, Pakistan's practice of bypassing all international safeguards in gaining latest nuclear technology on the pretext of using it for education and health is posing greatest threat to them, reported moderndiplomacy.

Fabien Baussart, in an article in moderndiplomacy wrote that Norway became the latest country to raise alarm over unhindered exploitation of dual use technology by Pakistan.

Norway is not the only country to realise the immense risk stemming from transferring critical technologies to Pakistan. Its assessment follows several other countries' public acknowledgement of the nuclear threat posed by Pakistan.

German authorities disclosed in 2020 that Pakistan had sought technology for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) "in order to retain a serious deterrent potential against 'arch enemy' India". The agency provided a detailed account of Pakistan's efforts to steal information and material about nuclear weapons.

Czech Republic in its report titled "Annual Report of the Security Information Service for 2019" also drew global attention towards Pakistan misleading the world in procuring internationally controlled items and technologies to aid its nuclear programme.

In 2019, the US Department of Justice indicted five persons associated with a Pakistan based front company for operating a network that exported US origin goods to Pakistan.

The network used to conceal the true destinations of the goods in Pakistan by showing front compes as the supposed purchasers and end users, reported Baussart.

US Justice Department statement disclosed that the goods were ultimately exported to Pakistan's Advanced Engineering Research Orgzation (AERO) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) without export licenses.

Both AERO and PAEC are on the US Commerce Department's Entity List, which imposes export license requirements for orgsations whose activities are found to be contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests.

Moreover, to fulfill its destructive agenda, Pakistan does not shy away from using the name of its poor public and students. Its government has repeatedly claimed that it seeks the dual use technologies for social and economic upliftment of the country by utilising the technology in its health and education sectors, reported moderndiplomacy.

Several instances of Pakistan having gained access to dual technology in the garb of peaceful purposes have come to light in the recent years. And the risk continues considering Pakistan's terror background and its history of stealing technologies from different parts of the world.

Given the poor governance standards and history of failure of civil institutions in Pakistan, these observations provide a justification for apprehensions of the western countries about its nuclear programme.

It remains to be seen whether these disclosures lead to sanctions or new export controls against Pakistan or the country again succeeds in misleading the world by playing victim's card, wrote Baussart.

( With inputs from ANI )