Canadian help to improve security of Pakistani nukes put into deep freeze

OTTAWA – Proposed Canadian help to secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and keep weapons away from terrorists has been put in the deep freeze by the Harper government.

A briefing prepared for Canada’s top military commander in 2011 outlined how the Foreign Affairs Department was examining the notion, under an anti-proliferation program established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

But a Foreign Affairs spokesman says there’s no agreement, “nor is it in any way contemplating negotiating one” to improve security around Islamabad’s estimated 110 nuclear warheads.

The relationship between the two nations grew increasingly frosty throughout the Afghan war with Pakistan’s perceived support of Taliban militants who were killing Canadian troops in Kandahar.

The international community has grown uneasy as the government in Islamabad has amassed one of the fastest-growing nuclear arsenals in the world.

The defence briefing note, stamped secret and dated Nov. 9, 2011, claimed Foreign Affairs was “working to advance bilateral co-operation” with Pakistan on nuclear trafficking, training and other regulatory issues — something diplomatic officials tersely deny.