'Making India an NSG member will be a mistake': How Pakistani media is getting desperate

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads India’s last ditch effort to become a member of the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group as time runs out fast in the Seoul plenary session, an equally zealous Pakistani media is leaving no stone unturned to prevent New Delhi’s entry. Here are a few picks from key Pakistani newspapers of late opposing raising questions over India’s NSG bid: [caption id=“attachment_2852530” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Screenshot from The Express Tribune.[/caption] The Dawn NSG cautioned against imposing ‘technological apartheid’ on Pakistan ….Speaking about Pakistan’s credentials for the membership, he said his country met the criteria except for NPT requirement, which India too did not fulfil. “Pakistan’s application stands on solid grounds of technical experience, capability and well-established commitment to nuclear safety and security. We have a complete programme for harnessing peaceful uses of nuclear energy and have operated secure and safeguarded power plants for 42 years,” Mr Kazmi maintained. Reminding that the waiver given by the NSG to India affected the strategic stability of South Asia, he worried that an exception for Delhi would further aggravate that balance. He, therefore, advocated that fair and unbiased consideration of the applications would advance the goal of non-proliferation, besides ensuring strategic stability in the region. Former Permanent Representative at the United Nations in Geneva retired Ambassador Zamir Akram, speaking on the occasion, said the US was using ‘like-mindedness’ and ‘merit-based’ justification to support India’s case. In his opinion, India did not even meet the politically-motivated merit of the new US approach, if applied honestly, because of its proliferation record for which it remained sanctioned and not fulfilling the obligations it committed while getting the 2008 NSG waiver. ( Read more…) Geo TV India doesn’t qualify for NSG membership: US paper ISLAMABAD: A US newspaper has stated that India does not qualify for becoming a member of the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as it needs to hold talks with China and Pakistan to get a seat in the group. Ideally, President Barack Obama could take advantage of the ties he had built and press for India to adhere to the standards on nuclear proliferation to which other nuclear weapons states adhered to. America’s relationship with India has blossomed under President Obama, who will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.India is unlikely to get a green signal for its membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on Thursday (June 9) since it views China as biggest hurdle in the meeting. The US experts are criticising Chinese policy on this count. According to reports the analysts in the United States believe that India’s NSG application is in a precarious position for several reasons, chief among them being China’s assertion that if the NSG countries make an exception for India, they should do the same for Pakistan which has unblemished record. “Pakistan and China have played their cards really well this time around. Pakistan has an application for NSG membership and China can, therefore, argue what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” said Micheal Krepon, a nuclear proliferation expert and co-founder of the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington DC. ( Read more…) Pakistan Observer NSG and the Indo-US trap Statement by India’s Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swarag, that India will not oppose Pakistan ‘entry into the NSG but would want its application to be considered on merit, is no less than a deception if one understands the use of nuances by the Indian foreign policy leadership. First of all, the statement has been coerced on India because of China’s principled public stance at Geneva meeting blocking consensus on the Indian gatecrash into the NSG. Once the Chinese opposition to an exclusive Indian membership without Pakistan became clear at the meeting, India enticed the United States who is ever ready to play the Indian fiddle, to be the first to lay the trap through Secretary Kerry’s statement that India would treat Pakistan’s membership of the NSG on merits if it gets into it (off course before Pakistan). The Indian Foreign Secretary has gone over Beijing to lure the Chinese on whose return Sushma Swarag replayed the gambit. ( Read more…) The Express Tribune Making India an NSG member state will be a mistake Recently, India initiated efforts to become a member state of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Correspondingly, Pakistan — in an attempt to subdue India — has also submitted an application in its desire to join the club. However, both countries don’t meet the prerequisites to join the NSG. I personally believe that Pakistan needs to focus on stability rather than gaining access to this group. NSG restricts the proliferation of nuclear weapons by controlling nuclear commerce. India, the fastest growing economy in the world, has a huge population and an enormous demand for energy. It has various domestic nuclear industries that require international exposure for them to expand their businesses. ( Read more…)