Pakistan’s credentials for NSG membership stronger than India: Air Chief

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman says Pakistan’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group is inescapable for lasting peace and stability in the region as well as the world.

Addressing a seminar in Islamabad titled “NSG Membership of Non-NPT States: Opportunities and Challenges” he said nuclearization of the South Asian region and Pakistan is primarily in response to its much-larger neighbour’s desires to acquire nuclear arsenal.

He said nuclearization of Pakistan had brought, to some extent, peace and stability within the region.

Earlier, the speakers said Pakistan fulfilled criterion for the NSG membership as its credentials were much stronger than India.

The 48-nation NSG is a nuclear technology control organisation formed in 1975 in response to India’s first nuclear weapon test, which used plutonium produced with nuclear technology from Canada and the United States. The NSG seeks to prevent similar future misuses.

Current NSG membership rules require a state to sign the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) before joining this exclusive club. India remains one of only three countries, with Israel and Pakistan, never to have signed the NPT.

Earlier this year, India formally applied for membership and was followed by Pakistan. The United States, and a host of other powerful western nations, back India’s application, but China and half a dozen other nations are blocking India’s membership, which requires a consensus of all members.