Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has reiterated his government's commitment to take all parliamentary political parties into confidence on all national policy matters, particularly Defence, Kashmir and nuclear issues. According to a statement, while chairing a special meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security here on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan being a nuclear state was cognisant of its responsibilities and had developed an effective nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation framework underpinned by extensive legislative, regulatory and administrative initiatives.
He said that as chairman of the National Command Authority, his government fully accepts the responsibility of nuclear security. The Prime Minister said nuclear power generation offers viable solutions for energy security and addressing the challenge of climate change.
He said that Pakistan has more than 35 years' experience of operating nuclear power plants successfully. He said that highly trained manpower and a well-established foolproof safety and security culture fully qualifies Pakistan for equal participation in civil nuclear co-operation at the international level "which would help us in addressing our immediate energy problems and would bring greater stability as well".
The Prime Minister said Pakistan is a democratic, progressive and peaceful country. He added that "our socio-economic development hinges on our ability to meet rapidly expanding energy requirements". He stressed the need to explore all options to ensure a reliable energy mix and civil nuclear power generation is, therefore, an essential part of national energy security strategy.
The Prime Minister declared that the government considers nuclear safety, security and safeguards as a vehicle for facilitating international civil nuclear co-operation. He observed that the objectives of nuclear non-proliferation, safety and security can be served and promoted through a non-discriminatory paradigm for international co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Earlier, Lieutenant General Khalid Ahmed Kidwai (Rtd), DG, SPD, briefed the Parliamentary Committee on Pakistan's nuclear programme and security of nuclear assets. He said that Pakistan has one of the best systems of safety and security of nuclear assets and technology both on the defence and civilian sides.
Masood Khan, Pakistan's Ambassador to China, who participated in the preliminary deliberations of the forthcoming nuclear summit in Washington, apprised the Parliamentary Committee of the objectives of the Summit and the preparations made by Pakistan to positively contribute to the deliberations of the Summit. The USA, he said, has already made the objectives public, which is a manifestation of President Obama's three-point strategy for non-proliferation of nuclear technology in the interest of global security.
The representatives of all political parties in the Parliament Committee on National Defence applauded the gesture of the Prime Minister for taking them into confidence prior to his participation in the important international summit. They assured him of complete support and expressed confidence that he would be able to put across Pakistan's viewpoint forcefully being a democratically elected Prime Minister enjoying complete backing of the entire nation.
The members of the Committee also appreciated the preparations made by Pakistan side for the summit. The members also gave suggestions on various aspects of the subject of the summit, which were aptly accommodated. The special meeting was also attended by General Tariq Majid, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and the Foreign Secretary.
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