FO: Pakistan does not deem itself bound by Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has clarified its stance over its obligation as per the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The Foreign Office of Pakistan remarked that Pakistan did not deem itself bound by any of the obligations enshrined in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that was adopted in July 2017 and was negotiated outside the established UN disarmament negotiating forums.

According to the official press release of Foreign Office of Pakistan, “None of the nuclear armed states, including Pakistan, took part in the negotiations of the Treaty which failed to take on board the legitimate interests of all the stakeholders. Many non-nuclear armed states have also refrained from becoming Parties to the Treaty.”

Furthermore the statement mentioned “the right of State Security, stating that the UN General Assembly, at its first special session dedicated to nuclear disarmament in 1978, had agreed by consensus that in the adoption of disarmament measures, the right of each State to security should be kept in mind, and at each stage of the disarmament process the objective 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 agr-eed undertaking, through a consensus-based process involving all the relevant stakeholders, which results in equal and undiminished security for all States”, the statement added.

The press release also highlights that, it is essential for any initiative on nuclear disarmament to take into account the vital security considerations of each and every State”.

The press release of FO concluded by citing that, “Pakistan stresses that this Treaty neither forms a part of, nor contributes to the development of customary international law in any manner.”