NEW DELHI, March 28: Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh on Monday accused the world’s superpowers of turning a blind eye to nuclear commerce in South Asia, saying it was having an “adverse impact” on his country’s security and on global peace. Natwar Singh’s comments come ahead of a May conference in New York called to review the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which bans the transfer of nuclear weapons and the technology to make them.

Mr Singh did not name Pakistan but made it clear that recent disclosure of proliferation from Islamabad was one of the reasons India is staying away from the nuclear treaty.

“The infirmities of the non-proliferation order have imposed costs on India and have had adverse impact on our security, as much of the clandestine proliferation which is today the focus of attention emanates from our neighbourhood,” said Mr Singh.

“The response of the international community over the years has been, from our point of view, inadequate at best or permissive at worst, leading to the present adverse situation,” he said at a two-day conference on “Emerging Nuclear Proliferation Challenges”.

“Even today we see the same inconsistencies in approach with selective focus on the recipients of such clandestine proliferation but not enough attention on the sources of supply.

“India has an abiding interest in non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction not just for its own security but for peace and security of the world at large.”

Since 1968 some 188 nations have put their names to the NPT. Signatories include the five main nuclear powers — Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States — but not emerging nuclear states Pakistan and India or suspected nuclear state Israel.—AFP