Seeking membership, Pak briefs group of ambassadors from NSG countries

Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday briefed a select group of ambassadors from the countries within the Nuclear Suppliers Group, seeking their support for its membership of the elite nuclear club.

Pakistan's Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi briefed the ambassadors, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The briefing was held in the backdrop of the recent meeting of the NSG held in Vienna on November 11 that deliberated upon the membership applications filed by two non-NPT countries, it said.

The ambassadors invited to the briefing belong to the group of like-minded countries within the NSG, which stand for a non-discriminatory, criteria-based approach on the extension of membership to countries which are not signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), it said.

The Special Assistant appreciated the principled stance taken by these countries on an issue which carried great significance for the global non-proliferation efforts, as well as for strategic stability in South Asia, the statement said.

He expressed hope that these countries will stand firm and resist any attempts to create yet another exemption on the membership issue that would deal a blow to the credibility of the Group.

Fatemi also highlighted Pakistan?s strong credentials for the NSG membership which include extensive measures in the domain of export controls and nuclear safety and security as well as Pakistan's strong commitment to the objective of non-proliferation.