Pakistan raises concerns over India-Canada Nuclear deal

ISLAMABAD: (Rizwan Abbasi) Pakistan has expressed concern over the agreement between India and Canada for long-term supply of uranium and possible cooperation in advanced nuclear reactor technology.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, in response to media queries, said that this agreement is tantamount to giving a special concession to another country in the field of civil nuclear cooperation.

According to the spokesperson, this is particularly noteworthy as India conducted a nuclear test in 1974 using plutonium obtained from a reactor provided by Canada for peaceful purposes. After this incident, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was established to control nuclear exports globally.

He said that India has not placed all its civil nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nor has there been any binding commitment to do so under this agreement. Several nuclear facilities are still outside international inspection while this agreement has not come with any clear non-proliferation assurance.

The Foreign Office spokesperson further said that the supply of foreign uranium could provide India with the scope to use its domestic reserves for military purposes, which could increase its nuclear arsenal and further exacerbate strategic imbalances in South Asia.

Pakistan stressed that civil nuclear cooperation should be non-discriminatory and quality-based and should be applied equally to all countries that are not parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). According to the spokesperson, granting concessions to specific countries could affect the credibility of the global non-proliferation regime and pose threats to peace and security in the region and the world.