Pakistani Nuclear Security - Still A Concern

The New York Times reported that a bus carrying workers from one of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons labs was attacked by a suicide bomber this past Thursday. This is the first such attack that singles out anyone or anything directly connected to the Pakistani nuclear complex. While no high-level scientists or officials were targeted, the article quotes analysts as saying that the attack demonstrates that the Taliban insurgency appears to have “current intelligence” on the Pakistani nuclear complex and a capability to strike at Pakistani nuclear personnel. To be clear this attack does not represent a major breach of the complex’s security; these were low-level workers on a bus that was idling at an intersection—an easy target to be sure. That being said the incident highlights the fact that insurgents continue to eye the Pakistani nuclear program with great interest. Moreover it shows that insurgents are identifying weak points in the complex’s security, however small, and finding ways to exploit them. While the big nuclear headlines of the week involve North Korea, Iran, and Russia, this attack shows that the problem of Pakistani nuclear security ought to remain a highly relevant concern for policymakers.