Nawaz calls for renewing global consensus on nuclear disarmament

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday called on the world community to renew the global consensus on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and promotion of cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Speaking at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, the prime minister said such a consensus should be based on equity, balance, restraint and cooperation among all states. He called on the UN General Assembly to convene a special session in this regard. Nawaz affirmed Pakistan’s readiness to make its contribution to this consensus-building exercise.
The prime minister also drew attention to the pursuit of policies based on discrimination and double standards, underscoring that such policies had damaged the integrity of treaties and norms of non-proliferation. He called for an end to nuclear discrimination.
Outlining the salient features of Pakistan’s nuclear policy, the prime minister stressed its guiding principles of restraint and responsibility. He said Pakistan did not want an arms race in South Asia, because consequences of conflict with nuclear weapons would be horrendous.
“Pakistan would therefore continue to adhere to its policy of the Credible Minimum Deterrence, while remaining fully alive to the evolving security dynamics and imperatives of deterrence and strategic stability in South Asia.”
In the broader context of energy deficit in Pakistan, the prime minister called for the need to acquire energy from all sources including nuclear energy. He underscored that Pakistan fully qualified to have full access to civil nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. In this regard, he said Pakistan looked forward to international cooperation in nuclear energy under IAEA safeguards. The Non-Aligned Movement, comprising a grouping of 120 developing countries, last year took the initiative of convening this first ever High Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament. Apart from several heads of state and governments including foreign ministers, the president of the UN General Assembly, the UN secretary general and Dr Hassan Rouhani, as Chairman of NAM, delivered statements at the meeting.