'US works very closely with India on Pak's nuclear security'

The US works "very closely" with India on the issue of Pakistan's nuclear security, an American think-tank said today.  

"New Delhi is a key source of intelligence on the status of that security, and a good - albeit imperfect - measure of valid concern is the degree to which India is worried about it, since it stands the greatest risk of being targeted by Pakistan-based nukes," Texas-based think-tank Stratfor said.  

"The United States works very closely with India on the issue of Pakistan's nuclear security," it said.  

In its latest report released today, Stratfor said although India continues to underscore the threat it faces from Pakistan-based militants, it remains comfortable with Islamabad's nuclear command-and-control infrastructure.  

"This would explain to a considerable degree the current US comfort level," it said.  

With Islamabad trying to keep its system as opaque as possible, the think-tank said that this means the US has to rely on what it is hearing from Pakistan about control over its nuclear arsenals and on unilaterally obtaining information from third-party intelligence sources and intelligence-sharing with other countries, such as India. 

In the past week, following media coverage of Pakistan's nuclear security, several senior US officials - Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and Central Command chief General David Petraeus - all said Islamabad's nuclear sites were secure.  

Stratfor said Pakistan's nuclear arsenals were located in Punjab province and despite the deteriorating security situation in the country, its powerful military establishment has managed to isolate the nuclear arsenal from the jihadist problem.