In an apparent reference to Pakistan's disgraced scientist A Q Khan's clandestine nuclear proliferation network, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked world leaders to adopt a "zero tolerance" for groups and individuals engaged in illegal trafficking in atomic items.
"There should be zero tolerance for individuals and groups which engage in illegal trafficking in nuclear items," Singh said at the Nuclear Security Summit here, which is being attended by the leaders from 47 countries including Pakistan Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani.
Singh regretted that the global non-proliferation regime has failed to prevent nuclear proliferation as clandestine proliferation networks have flourished and led to insecurity for all, including and especially for India.
Singh was referring to the founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme A Q Khan who was accused of establishing a "transnational network of smugglers" to sell nuclear weapon capabilities to Iran, Libya, and North Korea.
Khan was placed under house arrest in early 2004 after he confessed to running a nuclear proliferation network on state-run television.
Following a secret understanding between Khan and the Pakistan government last year, a court eased some of the restrictions imposed on him.