Headlines
Pakistan expresses concern over US-India n-deal
Islamabad, Jan 28
Pakistan has expressed
serious concern over the finalisation of a nuclear deal between the US
and India, saying it would have destabilising impact on regional
stability.
"The operationalisation of India-US nuclear deal for
political and economic expediencies would have a detrimental impact on
deterrence stability in South Asia," Pakistan's National Security
Adviser Sartaj Aziz said late Tuesday.
"Pakistan reserves the right to safeguard its national security interests," Xinhua quoted him as saying in a statement.
US
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday achieved
a "breakthrough" over the civil nuclear deal, six years after it was
signed. They reached the understanding during US President Obama's visit
to India which concluded Tuesday.
Aziz said Pakistan valued its
relations with the US and expected it to play a constructive role for
strategic stability and balance in South Asia.
He also opposed
permanent seat to India in the UN Security Council after President Obama
supported New Delhi's move to seek the seat.
"Proposals to add
new centres of privilege in the Security Council run counter to these
collective objectives of Security Council reform and have no rationale
in this age of democracy, inclusiveness and accountability," Aziz said.
Pakistan,
he said, supports a reformed Security Council that corresponds to the
positions and collective interests of all member states, not just a few.
"Pakistan,
along with a large majority of UN member states, favours a
comprehensive reform of the Security Council to make this principal
organ of the United Nations more representative, democratic, effective,
transparent and accountable," Aziz said.
"A country, in violation
of United Nations Security Council resolutions on matters of
international peace and security, such as the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,
by no means qualifies for a special status in the Security Council," he
said.
Pakistan also contested suggestion to grant membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to India.
"Pakistan
is opposed to yet another country-specific exemption from NSG rules to
grant membership to India, as this would further compound the already
fragile strategic stability environment in South Asia, would further
undermine the credibility of NSG and weaken the non proliferation
regime," Aziz said.
He said Pakistan remained opposed to policies
of selectivity and discrimination, adding Pakistan was not averse to
civil nuclear cooperation and NSG membership for Non-NPT states provided
it was based on the principles of nondiscrimination and objective
nonproliferation criteria.