Islamabad: A day after India received the US’s backing for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership, Pakistan stepped up its diplomatic outreach among members of the cartel and warned that country-specific exemptions could negatively impact strategic stability in South Asia.
Pakistan foreign ministry’s UN Desk on Wednesday held a briefing in Islamabad for diplomatic missions of NSG member-countries to put forward its arguments.
Adding to its diplomatic leverage, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz telephoned a few foreign ministers, including from Russia, New Zealand and South Korea to seek backing for Pakistan’s membership of the group.
“Pakistan has the expertise, manpower, infrastructure and the ability to supply NSG controlled items, goods and services for a full range of nuclear applications for peaceful uses,” said Tasnim Aslam, head of the UN Desk in the foreign ministry, conveyed to the gathered members.
She urged the diplomats to adopt an “objective and non-discriminatory criteria” for membership of non-NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) states to the 48-member NSG.
India’s membership of the NSG was “not merited until the country meets the group’s standards” – of which inking the NPT is a major criteria, a New York Times editorial has said.
The group’s members have to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty but India has refused to do so, Aslam said, adding that it is tantamount to New Delhi not accepting “legally binding commitments to pursue disarmament negotiations, halt the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and not test nuclear weapons”.
Aziz on Wednesday telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully, and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, to highlight Pakistan’s credentials for NSG membership with a view to seek their support.
On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama announced that his country is backing India’s bid to join the club. Both India and Pakistan have applied to become members of the exclusive club.
China, which is backing Pakistan’s bid, could also insist, as a condition for supporting India’s membership, that Islamabad be allowed to join the cartel.
The NSG is a 48-nation club dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that could foster nuclear weapons development. (IANS)
Earlier report on P-5
