ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday reiterated its opposition to the nuke ban treaty and emphasised that it was not bound by any of its provisions.

“The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted in July 2017, was negotiated outside the established UN disarmament negotiating forums,” the Foreign Office said while elaborating Pakistan’s position on the treaty that took effect from Jan 22, 2021.

The treaty was the result of efforts of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) that stressed the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of the nukes.

None of the nine nuclear weapon states have signed the treaty that bars signatories from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing or stockpiling of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

None of the nine N-weapon states have signed the agreement

The parties to the treaty are further disallowed to transfer or accept nuclear weapons and threaten their use.

The Foreign Office said none of the nuclear-armed countries took part in the negotiations of the treaty which failed to take on board the legitimate interests of all stakeholders.

Many non-nuclear armed states have also refrained from becoming parties to the treaty, it added.

Eighty-six countries have signed the treaty, whereas 52 have ratified it so far.

The Foreign Office recalled that UN General Assembly in its session on nuclear disarmament in 1978 had agreed by consensus that the right of each country to security should be kept in mind while adopting disarmament measures.

The UNGA had agreed that the objective of disarmament would be undiminished security for all states at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces.

“Pakistan believes that this cardinal objective can only be achieved as a cooperative and universally agreed undertaking, through a consensus-based process involving all relevant stakeholders, which results in equal and undiminished security for all states,” the FO said.

“It is indispensable for any initiative on nuclear disarmament to take into account the vital security considerations of each and every state,” it added.

The FO said that Pakistan did not consider itself bound by any of the obligations enshrined in the treaty.

“Pakistan stresses that this Treaty neither forms a part of, nor contributes to the development of customary international law in any manner,” it said.

ICAN says the treaty fills a significant gap in international law.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2021