ISLAMABAD, Jul 19 (dna): Pakistan has strengthened its ranking for
countries with weapons-usable nuclear materials, shows an index issued
by a nuclear watchdog.
The Nuclear Security Index 2023 said Pakistan improved its overall score
by 3 points since 2020 to jump to 49, far better than India, Iran and
several other countries.
India stands at 40 points with no change while Iran dropped three points
to reach 29.
The 2023 NTI Index includes a separate Radioactive Source Security
Assessment that assesses national policies, commitments, and actions
across 175 countries and Taiwan to secure radioactive sources and
prevent a dirty bomb. The assessment does not score or rank countries
and areas.
The NTI Index is a groundbreaking assessment of nuclear security
conditions in countries and areas around the world. Developed in
partnership with Economist Impact (EI), it uses publicly available
information to track progress on nuclear and radiological security
across the countries.
Pakistan scored high 100 in Domestic Commitments and Capacity, 57 in
Security and Control Measures and 44 in Global Norms, and 19 in
Quantities and Sites.
In overall score for security of materials, Australia ranked first
followed by Switzerland and Canada on second and third slots.