The member states of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) should adopt a non-discriminatory approach on the question of NSG membership for non-NPT states rather than creation of another country-specific exemption to India, said Dr Maria Sultan, Director General South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI).
Speaking at an in-house session on 'Media Outreach and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)' of SASSI, she emphasized that the Indian Ocean is a hotspot for international trade and the 48 participating members countries of the NSG currently meeting at Swiss capital Bern must adopt a non-discriminatory approach while considering new non-NPT members into the nuclear trading elite club.
The NSG is currently holding its Annual Plenary Meeting in Bern, Switzerland, from the 21st to the 24th of June, following the Extraordinary Plenary held on June 9, 2017 in Vienna, Austria.
According to Dr Maria Sultan, India does not fulfill the conditions which are mandatory for NSG membership which includes the separation of military and civilian fuel cycle, as of yet a pre-condition for the NSG waiver India received, placement of all civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards, Indian fast breeder reactor programme, independent regulatory authority, export control regulations, illicit procumbent, illicit trafficking and procumbent diversion of civil nuclear assistance for weapon use.
She also discussed India's dismal nuclear safety record, highlighting the many nuclear incidents and few accidents over the years such as Mayapuri Radiation Accident in West Delhi in 2010 was of Level 4 on International Nuclear and Radiation Event Scale (INES), eight people were hospitalised as a result of radiation exposure, and later one died.
While Pakistan has good record of Pakistan's Non-Proliferation Credentials, Current Nuclear Energy Production, Nuclear Power Reactors Under Construction and Planned Safety And Security of Nuclear Power Plants.
She said that no matter how much India wants access into a different league, the fact remains that the cases of India and Pakistan remain hyphenated. If India resolves outstanding disputes and stands with Pakistan as an equal regional partner only then can it seek to address its 'prestige complex, she added. While talking about Pakistan's engagement with NSG, she said that Pakistan's engagement with NSG predates 2003 and since 2011 concerted efforts have been aimed at NSG membership, and outreach meetings with NSG were arranged in 2011 (Vienna), 2013 (Ankara), 2015 (Vienna).
Dr Maria further stated that the NSG members should adopt a non-discriminatory approach on the question of NSG membership for non-NPT states rather than the creation of another country-specific exemption.
Pakistan wants simultaneous entry into the Group with other non-NPT states that aspire to participate in the group, she said, adding this would require a fair and simultaneous consideration of the two membership applications submitted by the non-NPT states.
Such a fair and unbiased approach would go a long way in making NSG a more effective platform to prevent nuclear proliferation, she said, adding it would also contribute to strategic stability in the subcontinent and wider region and advance the non-proliferation efforts.
She further said that it would show to the people of Pakistan that some particular states are not monopolising high-end technologies under the garb on non-proliferation. Also that the right to progress and development is an inalienable right of the people of Pakistan, she added.
Brigadier Ishaq Ahmed Khattak (retd), Director Intelligence and International Security Studies at SASSI, while talking about the issue of the NSG and the strategic partnership between the US and India, highlighted that this strategic partnership goes back to 1999, when they signed the Next Steps for Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative.