Islamabad: Adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Sunday said Islamabad's credentials for the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) are stronger than India's if the 48-nation cartel agrees to form a uniform criteria for non-NPT states.
In an interview with DawnNews, Aziz said that Pakistan has diplomatically engaged numerous countries over the criteria-based approach for non-NPT countries.
"If the group forms such a uniform criteria, then Pakistan has stronger credentials for NSG membership than India," Azis said during the interview.
“Our strategy was to apply after India did, after which we would have immediately followed. We have had our application in an advance state of readiness for the past three months for this this purpose,” Aziz said claiming that Pakistan has gradually gathered support for the criteria based approach.
"Last week, I telephoned the foreign ministers of Russia, New Zealand and South Korea, who will in future head the NSG, and our viewpoint was that they should support the criteria-based approach, and we have gathered support for it, China was already supporting it," Pakistan’s top Foreign Affairs Advisor said.
He expressed hope that, due to Pakistan’s efforts and its strong credentials, if India gains entry into the club, Pakistan will not be left behind.
Answering a question regarding nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan's confession, he said Pakistan has come a long way since then and everyone has witnessed Pakistan safeguarding its nuclear assets.
“If you compare it with India, when our neigbouring country conducted a nuclear test in 1974, it misused the nuclear supplies given to it for peaceful purposes, which led to the formation of NSG. After that nuclear fissile material was stolen from India, but such an instance has never occurred in Pakistan,” Aziz said.
The NSG, which was created in response to India’s first nuclear test in 1974, is expected to hold its next meeting in June.
The NSG is a 48-nation club dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that could foster nuclear weapons development.
