Summary Under no circumstances Pakistan will share its nuclear technology with any other country: Sartaj Azi
Dunya News Report (Madiha Fareed)
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz informed the Senate on Tuesday that Pakistan will not lend its nuclear technology to any other country. He added that Pakistan s nuclear programme was for its own deterrence and entire world appreciates its impeccable command and control system.
He made the remarks during a debate on the statement of US Secretary of State John Kerry that Pakistan might sell nuclear bomb to Saudi Arabia. Sartaj Aziz denied the speculations and said that Pakistan’s nuclear program is not for sale. He also added that the statement of the US Secretary of State was misquoted by the media.
“We enjoy friendly relations with Saudi Arabia, but under no circumstances Pakistan will share its nuclear technology with any other country”, Mr. Aziz informed the house.
He also clarified his statement about leverage over Taliban; Sartaj Aziz said that “Pakistan is not hosting Taliban, but we have hosted 3 million Afghan refugees in the country for many years, which the world fails to see”.
During a talk at a well-known American think tank in Washington- Council of Foreign Relations (CFR)-Sartaj Aziz candidly informed the audience that “Pakistan has had a certain level of influence on Afghan Taliban but they only listen to Pakistan when it suits them”, in response to a question regarding Pakistan’s influence on Afghan Taliban.
It was reported that United States and Pakistan had differences over nuclear security issues and that US was pushing Pakistan to cut down on its nuclear programme. Sartaj Aziz told the house that “We have clearly told the US that our nuclear programme is for our own security and it has by and large helped prevent an armed conflict in the region.
On the occasion of sixth ministerial level strategic dialogue between Pakistan and United States, US Secretary of State John Kerry, in his opening remarks, had asked Pakistan to realize that keeping a large nuclear programme “does not make sense” and that Pakistan needs to “process that reality and put it front and centre in its policy” .He also expressed hope that both countries will continue to discuss the obligations of being a responsible nuclear state.
Lately, Pakistan’s Finance Minster Ishaq Dar told the upper house of the parliament that “Pakistan will not cut back its nuclear arsenal even if the country’s debts mount up to $100 trillion”. He added that we did not start it to shut it down and that it has helped prevent an armed conflict in the region.
It is significant to note that Nuclear Security Summit is scheduled to be held from March 31-April 1 in Washington DC. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had accepted US President Barack Obama’s invitation to attend the summit.
On Tuesday, the Marshall Islands filed cases against Pakistan, India and Britain before the International Court of Justice stating that “Pakistan is in breach of its obligation owed to the international community as a whole, when it comes to reducing its nuclear arsenal.” The lawyers informed the court that “even a limited nuclear war involving the two countries would threaten the existence of small Pacific Island nation”, reported the agencies.
It is indisputably vital for every nation on the earth to process the reality that nuclear weapons symbolize only destruction. In order to ensure a safer future, all nations of the world must come together to get rid of this menace. It is absolutely essential that the possibilities of armed conflicts be minimized and eventually eliminated for human race to progress and prosper.
