The meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group on Friday came to a deadlock on the matter of India’s admission to the exclusive club. The US support of India’s bid fell on deaf ears and Modi’s international tour over the last month bore no fruit either. China first took the position that India’s bid to become a part of the group was not on the agenda. When the issue was raised, the opposition to India’s bid was joined by Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Austria, New Zealand and Ireland. India can no longer claim that one country, China, has chosen to exclude it for political reasons. A day earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the NSG members to put politics to one side and vote on the basis of ‘merit’. This is rather ironic because signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty has been the condition for admission of all members. India wanted to be an exception. Some of the countries that had pledged to support it also withdrew at the last moment. India’s only ‘consolation’ may be that Pakistan’s bid to join the group was not even brought up in the meeting. But it concluded with a joint statement stressing that signing the NPT was fundamental to being a member of the NSG.
Can this be understood as the success of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to scupper India’s bid? It would be the wrong for us to congratulate ourselves. India still retains strong support within the 48-member NSG. Pakistan enjoys much less support in the group for admission. It is time India and Pakistan both thought hard about joining the NPT. The attempt by both countries to enter the NSG should not revolve around a foolish idea of status; it should come out of a simple recognition: nuclear technology has economic value that should outweigh its military purpose. The concerns over India’s membership of the NSG were not limited to the NPT but also included the country’s decision not to implement the CTBT and its inability to separate its civilian and military nuclear reactors. Joining the NSG must be a moment that can curb the threat of nuclear war in South Asia. The NSG’s rejection of India’s bid is not a moment to cherish, but a moment to make real progress in making our nuclear programmes safer and economically viable.http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/130737-No-entry
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