Islamabad: India will not make it to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as China
will oppose its membership despite the US backing India’s bid, a senior
Pakistani ex-diplomat has claimed.
Zamir Akram, Pakistan’s former
permanent representative at the UN in Geneva and envoy at the Conference on
Disarmament, said this while speaking at a seminar on the International Nuclear
Order, jointly organised by the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI) and Konrad
Adenauer Stiftung.
The Dawn quoted Akram as saying that
the “chances of India gaining entry into NSG are virtually nil”. He claimed
China would not allow India to join the 48-nation NSG because this would affect
its nuclear cooperation with Pakistan. He said China is committed to ensuring
that both India and Pakistan gain membership at the same time.
Other than China, he said there are
some countries that are upset by the “double standards” being shown in India’s
case, and are calling for an approach based on criteria. This is the second
time in a month that a senior official involved in the country’s nuclear
affairs has dismissed India’s chances of NSG membership.
Last month, advisor to the National
Command Authority, retired Lt Gen Khalid Kidwai, said at a conference that “We
also have friends in NSG who would not let it happen” referring to India’s bid.
SVI also called for maintaining credible deterrence capability against India,
and advised against compromising security for mainstreaming in the nuclear
order.
PTI
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