India wants global no-first-use

Pitching for a global No-First-Use nuclear treaty, India has asked the international community to demonstrate political will to rid the world of nuclear weapons and all WMDs for a non-violent world order. Addressing a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament here, minister for external affairs Salman Khurshid said India is a responsible nuclear power with a credible minimum deterrence policy and a posture of no-first use. “We refuse to participate in an arms race, including a nuclear arms race. We are prepared to negotiate a global No-First-Use treaty and our proposal for a convention banning the use of nuclear weapons remains on the table,” he said. He further called for global political will for complete elimination of nuclear arms, saying the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria underscores the “urgent” need to strengthen restraints on use of WMDs and prevent their access to non-state actors and terrorists.

*** ‘V.K. should’ve been sacked’ New Delhi, Sept. 27: In a scathing attack on V.K. Singh’s recent comments on Kashmir, former Jammu and Kashmir governor Lt. Gen S.K. Sinha (Retd) on Friday expressed the opinion that the former Army Chief should have been sacked when he took Government to court over the age issue. 87-year-old Gen. Sinha, who served the militancy-hit state between 2003 and 2008, was candid in his remark that Gen. Singh had “brought disrepute to the Indian Army, an organisation which is always known to be apolitical”. “I was surprised as well as pained to see when he (Gen. Singh) dragged the government to court. No Chief in the world has ever gone to court challenging his government’s decision... What he did at that point of time was against the tradition of the Army. He should have been sacked on the same day,” Gen. Sinha said. — PTI