ISLAMABAD, 21 August 2007 — Pakistan said yesterday it will review its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing if India resumes tests, and cited the threat of an arms race in South Asia if Australia goes ahead with plans to sell uranium to New Delhi.
“Resumption of nuclear tests by India would create a serious situation obliging Pakistan to review its position and take action appropriate and consistent with our supreme national interest,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a press briefing in Islamabad.
New Delhi has said its right to conduct tests will not be undermined by a bilateral civilian nuclear deal with the United States, which has raised concerns here.
Washington has said there would be no such deal with Pakistan, its front-line ally in the ongoing battle to contain global terrorism. Under the agreement with Washington, New Delhi can buy atomic fuel, technology and plants even though it is not party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The agreement, finalized last month after nearly two years of negotiations, has drawn heavy and widespread criticism from Indian opposition parties and the government’s communist allies, who say it will limit India’s strategic options. Tasnim said that Pakistan had proposed a nuclear test ban treaty to India to end the arms race in South Asia. “Pakistan continues to adhere to its unilateral moratorium on testing. We have also proposed to India a bilateral agreement on a test ban,” she said.
“Pakistan does not want a nuclear arms race in the region but at the same time we are committed to maintain a credible minimum deterrence in the interest of strategic balance which is indispensable for peace in the region.”
“We have been emphasizing repeatedly that Pakistan has also its energy needs and we have future energy procurement plans which include the development of civilian nuclear power plants,” she said.
“Pakistan is fully committed to non-proliferation and we believe that for effectiveness of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime Pakistan must be treated and viewed as a partner.” Pakistan has also raised eyebrows over an Australian bid to sell uranium to India, saying it would tilt the strategic balance in New Delhi’s favor.
“Like the US-India nuclear deal, the decision by Australia to sell uranium to India is a matter which warrants close attention. Any development that can impinge on the strategic balance in South Asia is a matter of vital concern to us,” Tasnim said.
