A Harvard University paper has put forth the engaging hypothesis that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is under the "custodial control" of the US. Here's how:
On November 1, 2001, the then Pakistan Foreign Minister, Abdul Sattar, had made a statement that Pakistan had accepted a US offer for training Pak experts "for security and protection of nuclear assets".
Sattar, known for his precise choice of words, went on to say, "Pakistani experts would be apprised of the security measures being applied by the United States". The interpretation is that the US was "applying security measures" even before Pakistani personnel had been trained.
"Pakistan's strategic assets are under foolproof custodial control," Sattar said, without specifying whose custody, and leaving open the interpretation that custodial control was being exercised by someone else.
A loaded endorsement of the safety of Pakistan's nuclear assets by Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes makes the case stronger.
A day before the Sattar statement, Fernandes said, "Those concerned with Pakistan's nuclear weapons are responsible people".
Just as Sattar has a reputation for precision, Fernandes has one for speaking loosely. In 1998, he inadvertently revealed India's assessment that the main strategic threat to it was not from Pakistan but China. During the Kargil conflict, he gave a clean chit to Nawaz Sharif and blamed the intrusions on General Musharraf. This too proved correct.
If the US is indeed exercising custodial control, then one need have no fears of an Indo-Pak nuclear flashpoint. Assuming this is true, the logical inference is that it becomes incumbent on the 'custodian' to ensure that Pakistan does not suffer a military defeat at the hands of India.
(snip)
