Pakistan urges NSG to adopt non-discriminatory criteria for membership

Development comes a day after Netherlands backed India’s entry into the 48-member nuclear club

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, has called for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to adopt a “transparent, objective and non-discriminatory criteria” for promoting civil nuclear cooperation and membership in export control regimes.

Participating in a debate on efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to non-state actors on Wednesday, Lodhi said some states were neither willing to give up their large inventories of nuclear weapons nor their modernisation programmes, and were pursuing non-proliferation with “messianic zeal” while ignoring that disarmament and non-proliferation were organically linked.



The ambassador’s remarks came a day after Netherlands fully backed India’s entry into the NSG and also supported the country’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.

Speaking this afternoon in the UN Security Council debate on ' Non proliferation of WMDs' pic.twitter.com/ixTSPcm1yn

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) June 28, 2017

“Further progress may be impeded by recent developments, including one of the [five permanent members] states vowing to “greatly strengthen and expand nuclear capabilities” by outmatching and outlasting potential competitors,” she said, adding such course would renew a nuclear arms race.

Granting of discriminatory waivers to some was another challenge to long-held non-proliferation norms and rules, Lodhi said. “Such special arrangements carried obvious proliferation risks and opened up the possibility of diverting material intended for peaceful uses to military purposes.”



Speaking in the UNSC, the ambassador said Pakistan had taken a series of steps that fully qualify it for joining the 48-member nuclear club. She underscored the country’s commitment to its non-proliferation obligations, saying it had been a consistent supporter of the objectives of resolution 1540 (2004), which affirms that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery constitutes a threat to international peace and security.

“Pakistan’s strong credentials as an active partner in global non-proliferation efforts establishes its eligibility to become a member of the NSG,” the Pakistani envoy added.