The government has done well in introducing in the National Assembly a bill providing for the regulation of transfer of nuclear technology and equipment. This is in conformity with the UN Security Council resolution of April 29 designed to prevent weapons of mass destruction from falling in the hands of non-state actors.
Although Pakistan and other Third World countries had questioned many provisions of the draft resolution in the Security Council, it was adopted without much resistance.
The bill called "The export control on goods, technologies, material and equipment related to nuclear and biological weapons and their delivery system", has been introduced in the assembly as part of the process which Pakistan and all other UN members are obliged to follow.
After the Abdul Qadeer Khan episode came into the open, the danger of nuclear proliferation - especially the implications of WMDs falling into the hands of non-state elements - has become pretty clear.
It cannot be denied that even without official involvement, as in the Qadeer Khan episode, the possibility of WMDs falling in the hands of terrorists is very real. The bill provides for 14 year-imprisonment for anyone who transfers nuclear technology in contravention of this law.
A regulatory authority is also to be set up to administer the system. All this is something logical, for nuclear weapons cannot be allowed to proliferate unchecked. Without a law, the government would find itself helpless to check the criminal acts of malfeasant elements. Since research has not been banned, there is really nothing in the bill that would compromise Pakistan's security.
It is, however, important for the government to set up a nuclear security system in the country defining the controls to prevent proliferation and providing for safety measures to protect the citizens living in the vicinity of nuclear projects.
Road tragedy near Abbotabad
The death of 38 people in a road accident involving a truck near Abbotabad is yet another tragic reminder of the dangers of road travel in Pakistan. Over 7,000 people die in road accidents in the country every year, the majority of them involving rashly-driven buses, trucks or other vehicles.
A high proportion of the victims come from poor and impoverished backgrounds, since they are the ones who cannot afford the relatively safer option of travelling in private transport.
Monday's dreadful accident is typical of what happens when a truck, overloaded with people (all pilgrims returning home to their village near Mansehra from a shrine in Murree) goes out of control and plunges down in a ravine.
Though it has yet to be ascertained what led to the accident, certain factors cannot be ruled out. Two most common, and which account for the greatest number of accidents on roads, are reckless driving and vehicle fatigue.
Reckless driving can be tackled to some extent by a stringent enforcement of traffic laws, especially on speeding and overtaking. Often it is found that on the roads in the mountainous north traffic police allow trucks and passenger buses to ply with dangerously heavy loads after receiving a bribe.
The traffic police of Punjab and the NWFP (this particular truck was going from a town in the former to a village in the latter) need to enforce the rules uniformly and those found neglecting their duties should be proceeded against.
As for vehicle fatigue, all commercial vehicles should be tested for their roadworthiness on the basis of their fitness certificates as well as in relation to their actual operational state. Action must also be taken against those found issuing fraudulent fitness certificates.