China assures Pakistan of help to join nuclear suppliers club

Says if India gains sole induction, Beijing will veto the move

ISLAMABAD: China has assured that if India is allowed to get the membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) it will go all out to ensure that Pakistan also joins the group.

The assurance was given to Islamabad during the visit of a high-level delegation headed by President Mamnoon Hussain to Beijing recently.



“The issue was discussed at length and Pakistan highlighted its point of view saying that it has equal right to join the group for fulfilling its requirement for peaceful use of nuclear technology,” diplomatic sources told The Express Tribune.

Islamabad took the plea that if it is deprived of the NSG membership and New Delhi is allowed to join it then it will be discrimination and lead to creating an imbalance in the region.

“China, being member of the group and holding the veto power, assured Pakistan that it will take all measures so that it also becomes the member of the NSG,” they said, adding, “If India is allowed to join NSG and Pakistan is deprived of the membership of the group, Beijing will veto the move to block Indian entry.”



According to sources, Pakistan was aware of the fact after it came to know about the launching of a quiet diplomatic move for inducting India into the club of nuclear trading nations.

“The NSG chairman has recently visited New Delhi and held meeting with the Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj as part of a diplomatic effort to build a consensus to admit India into the group in its annual meeting next June,” observed a security analyst.

He said Pakistan aspires to join the NSG but its accession appears to be a tough sell as the major members of the group don’t support its move.



It is pertinent to mention here that membership of the 48-nation group would bring India into the nuclear fold 41 years after it tested its first nuclear bomb.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2015.