ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that sustainable civil nuclear energy was essential for Pakistan’s future energy security and economic development, and a non-discriminatory approach by Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was imperative to ensure strategic balance in the region.
“Any country’s specific exception will not be beneficial for non-proliferation regime which will affect strategic stability of South Asia and credibility of NSG itself,” Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria in a weekly press briefing said here Thursday.
The Spokesman said Pakistan’s application for membership of NSG stood on solid grounds of technical experience, capability and well-established commitment to nuclear safety.
He said on NSG membership, Pakistan had a principle support of adoption of non-discriminatory, equitable and criteria-based approach, which was also supported by a large number of NSG participating governments.
He mentioned that Pakistan had operated secured and safeguarded nuclear power plants for a period of over 42 years.
He said Pakistan’s membership of NSG was in the interest of nuclear training countries as it would further promote NSG non-proliferation objective by the equation of the state by the nuclear supplier’s capabilities and its adherence to NSG guidelines.
About an agreement signed between Japan and India on building six nuclear power plants in Andhra Pradesh, the Spokesman said Pakistan’s position was clear that it should not be any discriminatory treatment to a country which was not even party to the NPT.
“This will further add to the reasons behind disturbing the strategic stability in the region,” he said.
