White Paper

White Paper on the Taliban Nuclear Crisis by the Republic of India

President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Executive Summary: The Prime Minister of India in consultation with the President of India and the members of the Cabinet and Parliament has taken great care to review the current situation in Pakistan regarding the Taliban seizure of nuclear weapons. After consultation with key government leaders in India the following statement has been written to address our concerns. Of all countries in the United Nations, India is at the greatest risk in this situation because we share a border with Pakistan, a country that historically has been antagonistic towards us. We urge countries to put additional pressure on Pakistan to stop the Taliban in the areas they control, isolate them in the Swat Valley, and disarm them as quickly as possible.

Key Points:

It is India, not Israel that is at the greatest risk at this time. In November 2008, terrorist with links to Pakistan committed the worst attacks in recent Indian history. Terrorist bombings and shootings resulted in 173 deaths and 308 injured persons. Terrorists have demonstrated through their actions that their goal is to destroy India. The demands of the Taliban are unrealistic. Using a nuclear weapon on Israel would kill Palestinians. And if their goal is to create an independent Palestine, then it would contradict their own demands. Their stated demand is to not recognize Israel. There was nothing said about destroying it.

Pakistan must take the lead in this effort because the Taliban are within their borders. World powers must step aside and let Pakistan deal with this situation. To negotiate with the Taliban would be to give the terrorists international legitimacy. Therefore, we urge countries to keep their troops out of Pakistan and let the Pakistani military contain the terrorists.

The threat from the Taliban is not limited to the nuclear missiles that they hold. This could be a smoke screen to allow the Taliban to infiltrate further into neighboring countries like India. Consequently we will close our border with Pakistan. All roads, railroads, and flights will be cut off. In order to ensure domestic security Indian troops will be deployed along the India-Pakistan border. We assure the Pakistani government that Indian troops will not enter Pakistani territory and that their presence is just to protect our security.