ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry on Saturday said that China acted upon its "principled stance" in opposing Indian membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
In an interview with state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV), Aizaz Chaudhry hailed China as Pakistan's "all-time friend" and added that as regards India's NSG membership, China along with other countries supported the principled stance that if India is granted membership without signing the NPT, it will set a bad precedent.
Related: China leads resistance to India joining Nuclear Suppliers Group: diplomats
He maintained that there is "long list" of countries which opposed the Indian application and Pakistan is still in contact with these countries.
"We remained in touch with them in Seoul (during the NSG session) and we are happy that the truth has won," said the foreign secretary.
He claimed that Pakistan based its case on two points, first that the Indian membership will further increase the strategic and conventional imbalance in South Asia.
"Our second point was that when in 2008 they (India) got a waiver, they increased their nuclear stockpile. It was clear that they are using their own fissile material for military purposes and were taking the material from other countries for civil purposes...the world appreciated this point," said Aizaz.
He maintained that the matter has not ended and Pakistan will continue to pursue the matter of NSG membership as "we think that we are a responsible nuclear state".
Related: Pakistan has better credentials than India for NSG: Aziz
"Our work on nuclear security is such that our nuclear assets remained even during the wave of terror, our command and control is centralised led by the prime minister himself. If you come to export controls, since 2004, all our lists are aligned with NSG," said Aizaz, askinh how a country whose work on nuclear security is so successful should not be neglected on the basis of some random incident.
The Nuclear Suppliers Group on Thursday failed to reach consensus on India’s membership application after several members of the international nuclear trade cartel insisted on adhering to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) condition for admission.
The countries that opposed India’s application included China, Russia, Brazil, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland and Turkey. To India’s shock, some of the countries that had initially pledged support for its candidature did not do so at the meeting.
Also Read: What you need to know about the Nuclear Suppliers Group
The absence of a consensus on the matter proved to be a major diplomatic setback for India and its backers US, Japan and some other Western countries, which seemed to be in a hurry to get India admitted to the group. The condition of signing the NPT — one of the five requirements for new entrants — turned out to be the biggest obstacle for developing a consensus on the Indian application.
India and Pakistan are the two non-NPT states aspiring for the membership of the 48-member international nuclear trade cartel.
Related: Pakistan has better credentials than India for NSG: Aziz
