Pakistan on Thursday presented strong arguments for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the UN Security Council.
Speaking in a debate on “Preventing Catastrophe: A global Agenda for Stopping the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction by Non-State Actors”, Pakistan’s senior diplomat and Acting Permanent Representative Nabeel Munir underscored Pakistan’s commitment to its non-proliferation obligations, including steps taken for 1540 resolution implementation.
While calling for an equitable, non-discriminatory and criteria-based approach to promote civil nuclear cooperation and membership of export controls regimes, in particular that of the NSG, Pakistani envoy warned that the grant of waivers to long-held non-proliferation norms and rules carried “obvious proliferation risks” and also “undermined regional strategic stability”.
Nabeel Munir said that Pakistan has been a consistent supporter of the objectives of Resolution 1540 and committed to its implementation. “It is in the interest of all states to prevent proliferation of WMDs to states as well as non-state actors”, he added.
Pakistan, he said, has submitted four national implementation reports. “Our fifth report on 1540 implementation will be submitted shortly. We are also organizing a regional seminar in February 2017 on promoting its better implementation at the regional level”, he added.
Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council that Pakistan has elaborated and implemented a comprehensive export control regime, fully harmonized with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Australia Group. “We have also declared voluntary adherence to NSG guidelines”, he added.
Pakistan, he said was not only participating in the IAEA’s Incident and Trafficking Database but also actively participated in and contributed to the NSS process.
He referred to Pakistan’s ratification of the 2005 amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and declaring adherence to NSG Guidelines as among the recent steps taken by Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan has been an active partner of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) since its inception in 2007, and has contributed to the development of its guidelines.
Pakistan called for closer cooperation between the council and international and regional organisations to coordinate activities, to avoid duplication and focus on the most important areas.
