Iranian Embassy - London: News: Pakistan ready to sign NPT if accepted as nuclear power

Pakistan-NPT
Pakistan has formally asked the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for cooperation in providing the country nuclear supplies required for its legitimate nuclear needs as Islamabad is adhering strictly to guidelines for nuclear-related exports.

According to The News, Foreign Office sources said Pakistan was prepared to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty provided it was accepted as a nuclear state.

Foreign secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan is talking part in talks at the headquarters of the NSG at Vienna where the consultative group (CG) of the NSG has initiated deliberation to implement more effective control regimes over the unauthorized dealing in or of nuclear material.

The CG’s deliberation have attained significance in the backdrop of the nuclear test conducted by North Korea of its atomic bomb on Monday and it’s threat to undertake further tests.

Highly placed sources said that the deliberation of the consultative group would continue until next Thursday and Pakistan’s experts on non-proliferation and ambassador in Vieana, Shahbaz Ahmad, is assisting Riaz in the process of discussions.

Here in Islamabad Ms Fauzia Nasreen has taken over as acting foreign secretary in the absence of Raz.

The NSG was formed in 1974 in the wake of the Indian nuclear test that perturbed the world community since India’s clandestinely going nuclear alarmed the world.

Since then Indians are under strict scrutiny of the NSG but now sources indicate that the United States is pressurizing it to be lenient towards India for cooperation.