VIENNA: India and Israel have reiterated to the International Atomic Energy Agency their opposition to international inspection of atomic establishments in these countries as required under the Charter of the Agency. The common plea of both the countries against international inspection, as usual, is that it will militate against their political independence. India, however, has urged that atomic establishments in the U.S.A., the U.S.S.R. and the U.K. should be brought under the purview of international inspection.

The leaders of the Indian delegation at the eighth annual general meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, recently held at Vienna, pointedly referred to the fact that while the U.S.A. and other countries had submitted a number of their reactors to international inspection, there were many others which still need to be inspected.

The same attitude was adopted by India and Israel at the third UN “Atom for Peace” conference at Geneva, which preceded the Vienna moot. It is reported that a number of delegations at Geneva pressed India and Israel to revise their attitude and allow inspection of their nuclear complexes, as these two countries are known to be trying to become nuclear powers.

Published in Dawn, September 28th , 2014