Pakistan shows concern over India-Canada uranium deal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday expressed concern over the long-term uranium supply agreement concluded between India and Canada, as well as their potential cooperation on small modular reactors and advanced reactor technologies, calling it yet another country-specific exception in the field of civil nuclear cooperation.

India and Canada recently announced several agreements, including a 10-year nuclear deal, after their prime ministers met in New Delhi to reset ties that had deteriorated due to diplomatic tensions. Both sides agreed on a $1.9 billion uranium supply deal and also discussed cooperation in developing small modular nuclear reactors and advanced reactor technologies.

Responding to media queries regarding the agreement, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that it was particularly ironic given that India’s 1974 nuclear test – conducted using plutonium produced in a reactor supplied by Canada for peaceful purposes – had led directly to the establishment of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

“A state whose actions necessitated the establishment of global export controls is now being granted preferential access under selective arrangements,” the spokesperson said.

He noted that India had neither placed all its civilian nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards nor undertaken any binding commitment to do so under this arrangement.

Several facilities remain outside international inspection. It is also unclear what concrete non-proliferation assurances, if any, accompany this agreement, he added.

“The strategic consequences are equally troubling. Assured external uranium supplies effectively release India’s domestic reserves for military use, enabling the expansion of its fissile material stockpiles, accelerating the growth of its nuclear arsenal, and deepening existing asymmetries in South Asia’s strategic balance,” he said.

Andrabi added that in that context, the arrangement also undermined Canada’s commitment to the international non-proliferation regime and its corresponding obligations under that framework.

The spokesperson reiterated that civil nuclear cooperation must be governed by a non-discriminatory, criteria-based approach applicable equally to states that are not parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“Selective exceptions diminish the credibility of the global non-proliferation framework and risk further destabilizing regional and global peace and security,” he added.