GENEVA: Pakistanis are determined to tackle myriads of daunting challenges that beset the region, including disease, poverty, illiteracy, climate change and environmental degradation, a top government aide said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi said a peaceful neighbourhood was the sine qua non for a prosperous society. He said that Pakistan attached a great importance to the conference’s role as world’s single multilateral disarmament negotiating body. The conference, as an integral and vital part of the UN disarmament machinery, has many successes to its credit. “We remain committed to its efficient functioning for further progress on nuclear disarmament – the raison d’être of the conference – in a manner that results in equal and undiminished security for all States,” he added.
“Our march towards this goal, however, has been marred by an erosion of the international consensus established in 1978 by the first Special Session of the UN General Assembly devoted to disarmament, SSOD-I. Hegemonic designs at the regional and global levels, coupled with discriminatory revisionism of the global nuclear order through waivers and exceptions, are illustrative of this trend. We have to realise that it is highly unrealistic to aspire for absolute security and unrestrained freedom of action for oneself, while expecting others to compromise on their peaceful existence by circumscribing their legitimate security interests,” he maintained.
He said the situation in the conference today was but a reflection of the prevailing strategic realities. He said, “It has little to do with the conference’s Rules of Procedure. Genuine progress in the conference will only be possible on the basis of cooperative and non-discriminatory approaches that respect the right of all States to live in peace. The conference, with its cardinal consensus rule, is best placed to address the issues on its agenda. While other alternatives might seem as easy and attractive shortcuts, they cannot succeed unless all stakeholders that are indispensable for achieving a nuclear weapon free world are part of the process.”
The adviser to the prime minister said, “We sympathise with those States that are frustrated with the lack of progress on multilateral nuclear disarmament. But the solution to this impasse does not lie in abandoning the conference, nor in framing the debate on nuclear disarmament under an exclusively humanitarian paradigm that is completely isolated from security considerations. Addressing the security concerns of states is a paramount prerequisite for nuclear disarmament. Pakistan believes that the scarce resources of our region should be devoted to the socio-economic development of our people.” Fatemi said, “Even after 1998, we have demonstrated our commitment to peace and stability in the region. Our conduct continues to be defined by restraint and responsibility. Our proposal for the establishment of a Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR) remains on the table. We believe that this proposal can lay the foundation of lasting peace and stability in the region. The SRR is premised on three interlocking and mutually reinforcing elements of conflict resolution, nuclear and missile restraint and conventional balance.” Fatemi said that at its February 24 meeting, the National Command Authority (NCA), Pakistan’s highest decision-making body on strategic matters chaired by the prime minister, took note of the high growth of conventional and strategic weapons in the region. Reiterating its determination to take all possible measures to effectively respond to threats to Pakistan’s national security, the NCA reaffirmed its commitment to the national policy against the arms race.
The NCA “re-emphasised Pakistan’s desire for establishing the Strategic Restraint Regime in South Asia and the inescapable need for a meaningful and sustained comprehensive dialogue process for resolution of all outstanding disputes, ushering in an era of peace and prosperity in the region.” He said, “As a responsible nuclear State, Pakistan desires to contribute to global efforts towards non-proliferation and disarmament on an equal footing as a mainstream partner of the international community. Pakistan has the requisite credentials that entitle it to benefit from civil nuclear cooperation and trade, and to become part of all the multilateral export control regimes, including the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), on a non-discriminatory basis.” He went on to say that Pakistan had consistently supported the goal of a nuclear weapon free world through the conclusion of a universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable, comprehensive nuclear weapons convention in the conference. “We reaffirm our commitment to this goal today. Pakistan is ready to join negotiations towards this end in the conference. As recognised by SSOD-I, the objective of this process should be undiminished security at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces.”
He said, “Pakistan has a long history of support and activism on the issue of Negative Security Assurances. In 1979, Pakistan tabled a draft International Convention to Assure Non-Nuclear-Weapon States against the Use or Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapons at the conference, contained in Document CD/10. Since 1990, Pakistan has annually introduced a resolution on NSAs at the UN General Assembly. The most recent version, UNGA resolution 70/25 was adopted last year without a single negative vote. At least 127 states voted in favour while 55 countries abstained. Pakistan is ready to join negotiations in the conference to conclude an international treaty to assure the non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.” He said, “Pakistan supports the commencement of negotiations in the conference on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS). There is an urgent need to address this issue in the conference in order to prevent outer space from emerging as the new realm of conflict. The draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects, commonly known as PPWT, tabled jointly by the Russian Federation and China in 2008, and updated in 2014, provides a useful basis for the commencement of negotiations in the conference.”
