The United States on Wednesday welcomed the announcement by Pakistan to ratify the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM). A US State Department Spokesman, Mark Toner said at a daily briefing that the United States welcomes the ratification of the Convention by Pakistan, which is yet to be ratified by about eight countries.
The spokesman also said the US was looking forward to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to Washington next week to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. Pakistan's Foreign Office announced this week that the country has ratified the CPPNM. The Instrument of Ratification was signed by President Mamnoon Hussain on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Earlier, in its meeting held on February 24, 2016, under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, the National Command Authority (NCA) gave its approval in principle for the ratification of the Amended Convention.
The original CPPNM, which entered into force on February 8, 1987, is a legally binding international instrument in the area of physical protection of nuclear material. It establishes measures related to the prevention, detection and punishment of offences related to nuclear material. "The ratification of the 2005 Amendment to the CPPNM is a reaffirmation of Pakistan's commitment to the objective of nuclear security and reinforces Pakistan's credentials as a responsible nuclear state," a foreign office statement said in Islamabad this week.
On July 8, 2005, States Parties to the CPPNM adopted by consensus an Amendment to the CPPNM which expands the scope of the convention to cover nuclear facilities and nuclear material in peaceful use, storage and international as well as domestic transportation.
Responding to a question about the India's test of submarine-launched ballistic missile test last week, the spokesman said that the United Sates is concerned by any nuclear and missile development that could potentially increase the risk to nuclear security or lower the threshold for nuclear use. "We continue to urge all states with nuclear weapons to exercise restraint regarding their missile and nuclear capabilities," Spokesman Toner said.