Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has ceded his management over the nation's nuclear arsenal to his prime minister, though the real nuclear authority continues to reside with the military, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday (see GSN, Nov. 23).
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani now has power over the National Command Authority, which oversees the country's nuclear arsenal, said presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar.
"After the amendment in National Command Authority ordinance, all powers and functions shall rest with the National Command Authority, on whose behalf the prime minister will exercise these powers and functions," Babar said in a statement.
"The president wants to give the impression that he is empowering his prime minister. This transfer is basically cosmetic," said Pakistani lawyer Akram Sheikh (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Nov. 28).
Zardari's power divestment has been viewed as an attempt to stave off mounting calls to give up the leadership of a country fighting a significant Taliban insurgency, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Experts do not believe that Zardari's decision will arrest his falling popularity. His move comes as an amnesty agreement that protected him from corruption charges comes to an end.
"It does not have any political value for Mr. Zardari in the power struggle," said former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Maleeha Lodhi (Zahid Hussain, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 30).
The change in Pakistani nuclear command is not expected to affect the security of the country's nuclear arsenal, the New York Times reported.
"Nothing changes except that Zardari has removed one possible irritant with nuclear hawks," said one Pakistani official.
Pakistan is in the minority of nuclear-armed states in that its military, not its civilian government, has command over the country's nuclear arsenal (Tavernise/Sanger, New York Times, Nov. 28).