Following recent reports in international media about an offer by the United States to Pakistan for restrictions on the latter’s nuclear program, Pakistan said a balanced reduction of armed forces and conventional armaments is a necessary prerequisite for meaningful disarmament.
The statement, submitted by Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, comes amidst an animated debate in the US media about a reported US offer to Islamabad for a nuclear deal.
The proposal – first reported by the Washington Post and then by The New York Times – says that the US is ready to help Pakistan join the Nuclear Suppliers Group if it accepts certain restrictions on its nuclear program.
Pakistan’s statement, read during the general debate at the First Committee of Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, includes “fundamental prerequisites” that need to be addressed to make disarmament acceptable to all.
“There is also an urgent need for the balanced reduction of armed forces and conventional armaments,” says the document, adding that these negotiations should be conducted with particular emphasis on “militarily significant states.”
“The disturbing trend of escalation in the number and sophistication of conventional weapons has to be arrested as it has a direct relationship with the continuing reliance on nuclear weapons,” Pakistan warns.