Pakistan has established a “robust nuclear security regime” for protecting nuclear material and facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said after completing its first physical protection advisory mission to the country.
A seven-member IAEA team concluded a 12-day International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission on Friday, conducted from September 28 to October 9 at the request of the Pakistani government. The mission was the 112th IPPAS mission conducted by the IAEA since the programme began in 1995.
“The IPPAS team noted that Pakistan has established a robust nuclear security regime for physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities, which was observed to be appropriately implemented at the facility visited,” the IAEA said in a statement. It said the regime is continually improved through periodic reviews, while Pakistan’s capacity-building infrastructure contributes to nuclear security expertise at the national, regional and international levels. The IAEA said the team made recommendations and suggestions to further strengthen Pakistan’s nuclear security regime and associated procedures while also identifying several good practices at the regulatory and facility levels. “The first IPPAS mission in Pakistan is completed successfully, marking the country’s commitment to further enhancing regulatory and operational aspects of its well-established nuclear security regime,” IAEA Deputy Director General Karine Herviou said. PNRA Chairman Zia Hussain Shah said hosting the mission underscored Pakistan’s commitment to maintaining a robust nuclear security regime and that the experts’ findings provided a baseline for further strengthening its legal and regulatory framework and facility-level practices.
