Global Security Newswire

Pakistan appears likely to take over leadership of the International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board, even though the nation possesses nuclear weapons and refuses to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Reuters reported today (see GSN, July 20).

The South Asian state is also home to nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, one-time head of an atomic smuggling ring whose customers included Iran and North Korea.

Pakistan's standing makes it a "not ideal" selection to chair the 35-nation board that governs the U.N. nuclear watchdog, according to one Western diplomat.

"People are talking about it but I don't think there will be any uproar," a European diplomat said. "There is no rule saying that an informal nuclear weapons state cannot be chair."

The position, now held by Malaysia, lasts for one year and involves leading discussions and promoting consensus in board actions (see GSN, Feb. 16). The chair does not have the authority to make unilateral policy decisions.

The board is not expected during its meeting later this month to dismiss the nomination made by member states from the Middle East and South Asia. Pakistan is a longtime IAEA state.

"They are not the ideal board chairman but at the same time it is not really possible to make an issue of it," according to the Western diplomat.

The nominating nations might have selected Pakistan as it would have been harder to reach consensus on a country from the Middle East, the Western source said. The nuclear agency continues to investigate potential nuclear proliferation in Iran and Syria (see related GSN stories, today).

"There is consensus on Pakistan in our group," one Asian diplomat said.

Pakistan is believed to possess at least 60 nuclear warheads, a figure close to the number of weapons thought to be held by rival neighbor India (see GSN, Aug. 3). The security of Islamabad's arsenal remains an issue of concern amid continued extremist activity in the nation.

Analyst Oliver Thraenert said Pakistan's board leadership would not "necessarily" be an issue and could lead the nation to "become more responsible as an IAEA member and bring it closer to the whole nuclear nonproliferation regime" (Westall/Dahl, Reuters, Sept. 9).