Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Friday expressed concern at the US support to the Indian bid to secure membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

At the committee meeting here on Friday with Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari in the chair, Dr Shireen Mazari of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) briefed the committee about the international non-proliferation regime and Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine, with a special focus on Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), NSG and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). She said it was the most damaging move that the US was supporting India for the NSG membership. She said this move exposed the discriminatory policy of the United States towards Pakistan.

Mazari said though the US signed the CTBT; it did not ratify it. She said that Pakistan had taken the position that it would sign the CTBT only if India does so. As a result, she said, both countries have not signed the treaty so far. She said that India had taken proactive measures to strengthen itself globally in the nuclear arena and it was relying heavily on the US for its entry into the NSG. She said that it would be a major setback for Pakistan if India gets the NSG membership. She said that Pakistan needed to counter the Indian move vigorously. She said that after the 9/11 the focus shifted from non-proliferation to nuclear programmes of certain countries, including Pakistan.

Talking about India’s nuclear doctrine, Mazari said it was based on second-strike capability, development of ICMBMs and space system and acquisition of missile defence system. She said that India was expanding range of its weapons across Asia. She said that India’s naval expansion threatened the entire Indian Ocean. She said that amid this nuclear and missile race in the region, nobody could make a commitment about reduction in the conventional forces.

She said that India was pushing for the “great power” status. She said that it negated measures for nuclear restraint in the Pakistan-India memorandum of understanding on nuclear arms in 1999. She said that India’s missile programme was quite expensive and included development of ICBMs plus placement of MIRVs.

Commenting on Pakistan’s arms control and development policy, Mazari said that Pakistan ratified the International Convention on Nuclear Safety in 1997 after nuclear tests in May 1998. She said that Pakistan imposed a unilateral ban on further nuclear tests and offered India a regional test-ban treaty, nuclear restraint regime and nuclear risk reduction and gave a proposal for non-induction of ABM and SLBM systems.

Mazari said that Pakistan created its Nuclear Regulatory Authority for civilian nuclear matters in 2001. In September 2004, Pakistan’s Parliament passed a bill on tightening controls on nuclear materials, equipment and technology as well as biological weapons by imposing a ban on their unauthorised transfer outside Pakistan. Pakistan also established the National Command and Control Authority.

She said the Indo-US nuclear deal, especially India’s enhanced weapons grade fissile stockpiles, and India’s development of a missile defence capability directly impacted Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence.

Leghari said the hypocritical global community was treating India leniently and showing a discriminatory attitude towards Pakistan.

Committee members Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Sahibzada Nazir Sultan, Rana Afzal Khan and Naeema Kishwar Khan also attended the meeting.