US stance hypocritical

On capping Pakistan’s nuclear capability

US has persistently been pressurising Pakistan to cap its nuclear programme and even on the eve of sixth round of strategic dialogue between the two countries, Secretary of State John Kerry repeated the demand. He was rightly told bluntly by Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affair, that it was not Pakistan but India who had been stockpiling and that Pakistan’s nuclear response to the Indian threat was merely a deterrent.

Proliferation of nuclear weapons is rightly a cause of concern and there is a dire need to cleanse the world of the weapons of mass destruction. This is probably the rationale and the motivation behind efforts on the international level to prevent more and more nations joining the nuclear club and coming into force of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). One can hardly contest the narrative as embodied in the Treaty and the purpose behind it. But regrettably the dream of a nuclear-free world remains as elusive as ever due to the selective application of the provisions of the Treaty by US and its Western allies like UK and France, designed to serve their strategic and commercial interests at the global level.

The US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement is a classic example of violation of NPT by the US, to promote its strategic interests in this region. To have this agreement become operational, the US made amendments in its Atomic Energy Act of 1954, facilitated IAEA agreement with India in which the later agreed to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and to place all its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards and also manoeuvred grant of an exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for India. This deal introduced a new aspect to the international non-proliferation efforts. The grant of a waiver from NSG to India which allowed her access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel from other countries, made India the only country outside the umbrella of NPT to carry out nuclear commerce with the rest of the world.

As soon as the US House of Representatives passed the bill to approve the deal on September 28, 2008, France also inked a similar deal with India. UK too jumped on the bandwagon and agreed to have similar arrangement with her. As a follow up to the agreement between the two countries, UK and India concluded deals worth $13.7 billion including civil nuclear pact during Indian Prime Minister’s visit to UK in the second week of November 2015. Australia, which possesses 40% of the known reserves of uranium in the world, has also formalised an agreement with India for selling it to India.

France and India signed a pact on 25^th January under which the former would sell 36 French-built Rafael fighter planes to the latter and also build six nuclear reactors in India. This agreement was concluded during the visit of French President Francois Hollande to India who was invited as guest of honour on Indian Republic Day Parade in New Delhi. The foregoing facts prove beyond doubt that the stance of US and its allies on the issue of Nuclear Non-Proliferation and discriminatory treatment meted out to Pakistan viz-a-viz India was hypocritical.

India has been feverishly engaged in boosting its nuclear capability as well as build up conventional weapons with the support and encouragement of US and its allies, posing an ever increasing threat to the security of Pakistan. Credible reports by US based Institute for Science and International Security (ISSI), the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and HIS Jane’s have corroborated the fact that the waiver given by Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) had allowed India to exponentially increase its fissile material stocks.

Pakistan has persistently been voicing its concern over the discriminatory treatment meted out to her in this regard and the likely repercussions for the region as well as tensions between the two countries. The belligerent posture adopted by Modi regime and the Indian paradigm of ‘cold start’ deserve a matching response by Pakistan. No country can compromise its security. These provocative and threatening actions by India, therefore, could not have gone unnoticed by Pakistan. The missile programme of Pakistan designed to produce short missile capable of carrying small nuclear warheads is part of a defensive mechanism designed to discourage India from committing any indiscretion. It is yet another deterrent to forestall the possibility of even a limited war between the two countries.

The US and European nations look at Pakistan’s nuclear programme from the perspective of nuclear terrorism at the global level, rather than it being India-specific, necessitated by legitimate security concerns of Pakistan. Before Nawaz Sharif embarked on US visit in October 2015, it was being speculated that President Obama would ask Sharif to halt missile programme and a deal on civilian nuclear technology might be sealed if Pakistan agreed to cap its nuclear programme. Pakistan however categorically rejected the idea and the Prime Minister before setting his foot on the US soil stated in unequivocal terms that Pakistan would never compromise on its nuclear programme. That probably stopped President Obama from raising the issue during the dialogue in the context of Indian concerns, though they did discuss nuclear security in the global context.

The US and the western powers need to understand Pakistan’s position with regard to its nuclear programme in its proper context. Their discriminatory approach on the nuclear issue would neither help the cause of NPT nor would be able to dissuade Pakistan from pursuing its paradigm of minimum nuclear deterrent. The only and the practicable solution to this sordid issue lies in addressing the causes that prompted Pakistan to take the nuclear option i.e., the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir that has bedeviled relations between the two countries and precipitated enmity between them. The non-resolution of Kashmir issue not only poses a threat to the regional peace and security but is also a potent threat to the global peace.

The US and its allies instead of coercing Pakistan to abandon its nuclear programme must make efforts for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan in conformity with the spirit of the UN resolutions. Once the Kashmir issue is resolved and relations with India are normalised and India signs the NPT, Pakistan surely would have no hesitation in signing the NPT and removing its objections to initiation of dialogue on FMCT as well. One-sided pressure tactics and arm-twisting are not going to produce desired results. Pakistan is a sovereign and self-respecting country and would never ever take dictation from anyone in regards to its security.