IAEA team completes first nuclear security review mission in Pakistan

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team has completed its first International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission in Pakistan, recognising the country’s established nuclear security framework and recommending further improvements to its regulatory and operational procedures.

According to a statement on IAEA’s website, the 12-day mission, conducted from September 28 to October 9 at the request of the government, reviewed Pakistan’s legislative and regulatory framework for protecting nuclear materials and facilities, as well as security arrangements at a specific nuclear facility, the IAEA said on Friday.

Hosted by the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), the mission included meetings with officials from the regulator, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and other relevant national stakeholders.

Team visits Karachi nuclear facility

The seven-member team also visited the KANUPP Decommissioning Project at the Karachi Nuclear Power Generating Station, Pakistan’s first nuclear power plant, to observe decommissioning activities and spent nuclear fuel storage.

The plant’s Canadian Deuterium Uranium reactor began operating in 1971 and was permanently shut down in 2021.

The IAEA said the team found that Pakistan had established a robust nuclear security regime for the physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities. The arrangements observed at the facility visited during the mission were found to be appropriately implemented.

The team also noted that Pakistan’s nuclear security framework was sustained through periodic reviews and supported by an established capacity-building infrastructure that draws on national, regional and international expertise.

It provided recommendations and suggestions to further strengthen the country’s nuclear security regime and related procedures, while identifying good practices at both regulatory and facility levels.

IAEA, PNRA stress commitment to nuclear security

IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security Karine Herviou said the completion of the first mission marked Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening the regulatory and operational aspects of its nuclear security framework.

Speaking at the mission’s closing ceremony, Herviou also commended Pakistan’s contribution to developing nuclear security expertise, saying its impact extended beyond the country.

PNRA Chairman Zia Hussain Shah said hosting the mission stressed Pakistan’s commitment to maintaining nuclear security across its facilities and activities.

He said the international experts’ recommendations would provide a basis for further strengthening the country’s legal and regulatory framework, national nuclear security regime and facility-level practices.

Shah added that the PNRA remained committed to working with the IAEA and national stakeholders to improve nuclear security infrastructure in line with international guidance.

Pakistan’s international nuclear security commitments

Pakistan is a party to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and ratified its 2005 Amendment in 2016.

The amendment expanded the convention’s scope and established obligations for the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities used for peaceful purposes, including material in domestic use, storage and transport.

According to the IAEA, the mission was the 112th conducted under the IPPAS programme since its launch in 1995. The programme provides international peer advice to countries seeking to strengthen their nuclear security arrangements by assessing national systems against international guidance and good practices, with recommendations for improvement.