Nuclear Debate on Pakistan in the US Congress

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

A debate on the policy brief by ARCHumanKind, "The Pink Triangle Threat; Nuclear Proliferation: an assessment", was sponsored in the US Congress, Washington DC on May 11, 2016, by US Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr.

Internationally renowned American foreign affairs scholar, Walid Phares, and Director of ARCHumanKind, Paulo Casaca animated the debate. Congressman Trent Franks, representing Arizona since 2002, also attended. He has been especially active in the fight against nuclear proliferation, and is one of the most experienced politicians in this field. Several high-level experts and journalists also attended the debate.

During the conference, it was highlighted that Pakistan has the fastest growing nuclear weapons program in the world, and of particular concern was its recent announcement of the development and deployment of tactical nuclear weapons along its border with India. Whereas Pakistan has, in the past, been the primary source of international nuclear proliferation, and gives no guarantee of control on its nuclear weapons, a lighter, more diversified and widespread nuclear device capability, implied by its recent tactical nuclear weapons announcement, significantly increases the risks of a major nuclear catastrophe.

The contemporary nuclear proliferation wave centered in Pakistan was developed through a mix state, non-state and corporate multinational that allegedly traded clandestine nuclear weapons technology across the world, which may have allowed both Libya and North Korea to develop their nuclear weapons program.

Speakers present considered nuclear terror proliferation as the most important threat impacting upon humanity today, and argued that this threat has considerably increased following the acceptance, by the major world powers, of the Pakistani nuclear weapons program, and the chilling message this has sent to the international community.