ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has made a formal application to
join a
club of
nuclear trading nations, the foreign ministry said on Friday, a move likely to lead to a showdown in the group which has also been facing calls to induct India as a member.
The
nuclear Suppliers Group (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 ******* development.
Pakistan’s application will add to long-running tensions with India.
The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars since being split amid violence at the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
Diplomats quietly launched a new push last year to induct India into the
club last year.
“Pakistan has the expertise, manpower, infrastructure, as well as the ability to supply NSG controlled items, goods and services for a full range of
nuclear applications for peaceful uses,” foreign ministry said in a statement an**uncing its formal application.
The campaign for India’s membership is viewed as carrying the risk of antagonising
Pakistan as well as its ally China, which could veto any application by India.
China could also insist, as a condition of India’s membership, that
Pakistan also be allowed to join, a potential hard sell due to Islamabad’s development of new tactical
nuclear *******.
“Pakistan has stressed the need for NSG to adopt a **n-discriminatory criteria-based approach for NSG membership of the countries that have never been party to the
nuclear **n-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” foreign ministry added.
Neither India **r
Pakistan has signed the NPT, generally seen as a prerequisite to NSG membership.
US President Barack Obama urged
Pakistan last October to avoid developments in its
nuclear ******* programme that could increase risks and instability.
Washington has been concerned about Pakistan’s development of new
nuclear ******* systems, including small tactical
nuclear *******, and has been trying to persuade Islamabad to make a unilateral declaration of “restraint”.
Pakistan said on Thursday it was “seriously concerned” about recent missile tests by India and said it could respond by upgrading its defences.
The NSG, which was created in response to India’s first
nuclear test in 1974, is expected to hold its next meeting in June.
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