Pak apprises IAEA about steps taken to safeguard nuclear installations

Pakistan has informed the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, about the steps taken by it to strengthen the safety of its civilian nuclear installations.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano's visit to Pakistan comes amid global concern over the safety and security of its nuclear assets.

Amano, who was on a three-day visit to Pakistan, yesterday visited the construction site of two reactors of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) here and commended the country's efforts to increase safety and security of its nuclear facilities as the country was working to increase its nuclear power capacity.

The reactors are expected to be ready in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and will produce over 2000 MW of electricity, close to 10 per cent of the country's total need.

In Islamabad, Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Muhammad Naeem briefed Amano on the Commission's role in overseeing the increasing use of peaceful nuclear technology to meet the country's development goals.

During his meetings with the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority and the PAEC, Amano was informed about the steps taken by Pakistan to strengthen nuclear safety, according to an official IAEA statement.

Later at a seminar, the IAEA chief said that "he was happy to see that the new plants were also heavily protected".

"Pakistan needs to have more electricity and it was committed to nuclear safety; you are working with the IAEA," Amano was quoted as saying in the statement.

Amano, also said, "the IAEA greatly values cooperation with Pakistan in peaceful uses of nuclear technology".

He said that he felt that access to nuclear power should not be limited to developed countries as developing states should also have the right to use atomic power.

He said it was a misconception that IAEA only worked to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. "We cover other scientific issues as well."