For the second time in a week on Tuesday, Pakistan proposed that New Delhi and Islamabad agree on a bilateral arrangement for not conducting nuclear tests.
For the second time in a week on Tuesday, Pakistan proposed that New Delhi and Islamabad agree on a bilateral arrangement for not conducting nuclear tests.
Pakistan said the move would send a positive signal to the NSG, in which both countries seek membership.
However, the proposal is being viewed with cynicism by experts in India, who says Pakistan is increasing the number of its nuclear warheads, and that it should first stop its nuclear warhead proliferation instead of resorting to “gimmicks”.
The offer from Pakistan was initially announced by the Pakistani Prime Minister’s adviser on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on August 12.
According to agency reports from Islamabad, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Tuesday that, following the nuclear tests in 1998, Pakistan had proposed a simultaneous adherence to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, but that it did not elicit a favourable response from India.
“Once again, in the larger interest of peace and stability in the region, as also in the global context, Pakistan has indicated that the two countries may consider a bilateral arrangement, which is reflective of its policy of promoting restraint and responsibility in South Asia and its consistent support for the objectives of the CTBT,” Ms Zakaria was quoted by news agencies. “The bilateral non-testing arrangement, if mutually agreed, could become binding immediately without waiting for the entry into force of the CTBT at the international level,” said Zakaria.
