Pakistan voices serious concern over seizure of uranium in India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday expressed serious concerns over seizure of seven kilograms of uranium by unauthorised persons in India.

On Friday, Indian police said it had seized over seven kilograms (15.4 pounds) of natural uranium and arrested two men in the western Maharashtra state for “illegally possessing” the highly radioactive substance.

Safeguarding nuclear arsenals should be top priority for all countries, said Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri in a statement.

“There is need for a thorough investigation of the matter as to how such sizeable quantity of uranium could become available outside of state control and identify the gaps which made this possible” he further added.

According to the anti-terrorism squad in India’s Maharashtra state, the confiscated material is worth around $2.9 million and an investigation into the case is underway.

A case was registered after a report from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai confirmed the seized material is highly radioactive.