ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday submitted a formal application for membership of the Nuclear Supplies Group (NSG), a club of nuclear trading nations.

In a letter addressed to the NSG chairman, Pakistan's ambassador in Vienna, stated that the country has the expertise, manpower, infrastructure, as well as the ability to supply NSG controlled items, goods and services for a full range of nuclear applications for peaceful purposes.

"Pakistan attaches high priority to nuclear safety and security. It has taken legal, regulatory and administrative measures to bring nuclear safety and security at par with international standards," reads the letter.

Related: Pakistan tells US it holds 'credentials' to join nuclear suppliers club

Foreign office spokesman, in a statement, said that Pakistan’s NSG membership will further the club's non-proliferation objectives as the country has nuclear supply capabilities and it also adheres to NSG guidelines.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a 48-nation club dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that could foster nuclear weapons development.

Pakistan's application is likely to lead to a showdown in the group which has also been facing calls to induct India as a member.

Related: ‘China won’t let India gain entry into NSG’

China could also insist, as a condition of India's membership, that Pakistan also be allowed to join.

The NSG, which was created in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, is expected to hold its next meeting in June.

Opinion

Editorial

Depopulating Gaza
Updated 07 Feb, 2025

Depopulating Gaza

The least feasible "solution" is the Trumpian plan for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing and occupation, which is a non-starter.
‘Pause’ in US aid
07 Feb, 2025

‘Pause’ in US aid

THE impact of the Trump administration’s decision to ‘pause’ all US foreign aid programmes, especially those...
Mobilising opposition
07 Feb, 2025

Mobilising opposition

POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. There has not, for quite some time, been a guest list as intriguing as the one...
No time left
Updated 06 Feb, 2025

No time left

Climate change concerns continue to remain a footnote as politics dominates national discourse, surfacing only when disaster strikes.
Karim Aga Khan
06 Feb, 2025

Karim Aga Khan

PRINCE Karim Aga Khan was a man who straddled various worlds and cultures. Beyond his role as spiritual leader of ...
Cotton production
06 Feb, 2025

Cotton production

PAKISTAN’S cotton crop is on the ropes. The crop output has been falling since FY15, when the country harvested a...