`US works very closely with India on Pak`s nuclear security`

Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 13 (PTI) The US works "very closely"
with India on the issue of Pakistan's nuclear security, an
American think-tank said Wednesday.

"New Delhi is a key source of intelligence on the
status of that security, and a good - albeit imperfect -
measure of valid concern is the degree to which India is
worried about it, since it stands the greatest risk of being
targeted by Pakistan-based nukes," Texas-based think-tank
Stratfor said.

"The United States works very closely with India on
the issue of Pakistan's nuclear security," it said.

In its latest report released Wednesday, Stratfor said
although India continues to underscore the threat it faces
from Pakistan-based militants, it remains comfortable with
Islamabad's nuclear command-and-control infrastructure.

"This would explain to a considerable degree the
current US comfort level," it said.

With Islamabad trying to keep its system as opaque as
possible, the think-tank said that this means the US has to
rely on what it is hearing from Pakistan about control over
its nuclear arsenals and on unilaterally obtaining information
from third-party intelligence sources and intelligence-sharing
with other countries, such as India.

In the past week, following media coverage of
Pakistan's nuclear security, several senior US officials -
Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman
Admiral Mike Mullen and Central Command chief General David
Petraeus - all said Islamabad's nuclear sites were secure.

Stratfor said Pakistan's nuclear arsenals were located
in Punjab province and despite the deteriorating security
situation in the country, its powerful military establishment
has managed to isolate the nuclear arsenal from the jihadist
problem. PTI