WASHINGTON: Two peace groups are urging India and Pakistan to rethink their strategy for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, as United Nations launched a drive to curb nuclear weapons.

“It is imperative that India and Pakistan rethink their strategy for NPT and become signatory,” argued Dr Mohammed A. Khalid, who heads the Washington chapters of both groups, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and International Physicians to Prevent Nuclear War (IPPNW).

The two organisations which have won the Nobel Peace Prize are among the largest peace groups in the world with branches in more than 60 countries.

Take a look: Sound bytes: 'Pakistan is engaged in nuclear competition'

“Signing NPT will be particularly beneficial for Pakistan,” said Dr Khalid, arguing that it would help the country rebuild its reputation, “badly tainted by terrorism and by allegations that it exported nuclear technology to other countries”.

Dr Khalid also noted that both India and Pakistan had more than 100 nuclear warheads, enough to destroy the entire region.

The two groups recently conducted a study, which showed that if a nuclear war broke out in this region, “both countries would cease to exist”.

The fallout would cause a famine that would go beyond the region and affect more than three billion people around the globe, the study claimed.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2015

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