Pakistan opposes US-backed treaty to ban production of fissile material

United Nations, July 30 (ANI): Pakistan has reaffirmed its opposition to a US-backed treaty banning production of fissile material used as fuel for nuclear weapons and warned that the country would boycott any process to negotiate the proposed treaty outside the deadlocked United Nations Conference on Disarmament.

Speaking in the UN General Assembly, acting Pakistan Ambassador Raza Bashir Tarar struck a "note of caution" against taking negotiations for the Fissile Material Cut-off treaty (FMCT) outside the 65-member conference.

"Pakistan will not join any such process nor would it consider accession to the outcome of any such process", the Daily Times quoted Tarar, as saying.

Despite mounting pressure from some nuclear powers over past two years, Pakistan has been blocking the launching of negotiations on the proposed treaty at Conference on Disarmament on the ground that it is prejudicial to its national security interests.

Tarar also pointed out that discriminatory policies pursued by some major powers regarding nuclear cooperation - hinting at Indo-US nuclear deals, have created insecurities and imbalances.

"These policies, by sacrificing international non-proliferation goals at the altar of power and profit, have accentuated the asymmetry in fissile material stocks in our region," he said.

He regretted that such policies continued without opposition amongst the members of Nuclear Supplier Group, which, according to him, comprised some of the most ardent supporters of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and strongest critics of "lack of progress in the CD (Conference on Disarmament)".

"No country can be expected to compromise on its fundamental security interests for an instrument that is cost-free for all other concerned countries," he said,

He recommended several steps that must be taken in order to create an "honest and objective approach" for revitalising the disarmament machinery.

These steps included considering critical issues by the conference in an equal and balanced manner, underlining nuclear disarmament as the agenda's priority, and the elaboration on a legally binding instrument on negative security assurances for non-nuclear-weapon states. (ANI)