By Mirza Kashif Baig
Editor, Monthly Interaction
Pakistan’s nuclear program has been criticized many times over time with the most baseless allegations and many efforts have been made to ensure that Pakistan rolls back its nuclear program. The pressure came several times to roll back its nuclear program through international propaganda and threat of sanctions but Pakistan has endured. All this propaganda has been based on preposterous claims and highlights a bias towards Pakistan’s nuclear program.
Security is a basic right for all the countries and there should be no restrictions for any country, provided they adhere to universally agreed norms, to advance their security measures to keep enemies at bay. And Pakistan did not sign Non Proliferation Treaty as Iran did. So it is not justified to impose restrictions on one country in the region while giving others a free hand to increase their nuclear arsenal without any check.
Such measures disrupt the regional and global balance of power leading to the dominion of a few over others. In order to get any consensus on the matter of nuclear arsenal, it is important that the proposed treaty should be acceptable to all stakeholders and should binding for all. FMCT, is apparently Pakistan specific only, as Israel holds special dispensation, and India with Indo-US nuclear agreement and NSG waiver continues to increase its nuclear stock. The Indo-US nuclear agreement allows India to make significant qualitative advancements in the field as well.
If Pakistan signs FMCT it would considerably disrupt the regional power balance and would give India a significant edge on the matter which is not acceptable to Pakistan considering the history of the two countries which is why Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine is India specific. FMCT is a biased political tool that seeks to put Pakistan at a disadvantage in the regional and global arena.
This western tool’s objective is to limit Pakistan’s nuclear program and in turn compromise Pakistan’s national security as Indian nuclear capability will increase significantly allowing it to bully Pakistan as per the instructions of its western masters. It can therefore be safely concluded that a measure like FMCT will never be acceptable to Pakistan instead a much more effective measure would be the Fissile Material Treaty (FMT) which was originally envisaged at the UN.
FMT is a much effective tool for nuclear disarmament as it would cover existing stockpiles in addition to banning future production of fissile material in contrast FMCT merely focuses on the production of fissile material making it more of a non-proliferation measure. FMT would be non-discriminatory, obligating all states equally without any preferential bias. When all states have an equal obligation this reduces all insecurities and has universal acceptance.
In addition, FMT would cover all types of fissile material, in turn addressing the matter of proliferation as a major loophole would be covered and this will be complemented by a robust verification mechanism to ensure compliance. FMT will serve as a measure for regional and global stability as it will ensure equal security for all states.
As a result, FMT will serve as an effective measure for nuclear disarmament measure as it will address all biases and will be in line with the final document of the first special session of the UN General Assembly devoted to nuclear disarmament i.e. SSOD-I of 1978. Pakistan’s rejection of FMCT is based on facts as the country will not suffer to compromise its national defense interest.
It must therefore be understood clearly that if the objective is to sabotage Pakistan’s national security then any measure, no matter how well disguised as a measure for disarmament, will not be acceptable. If the nuclear disarmament objective is to be addressed sincerely then a non-discriminatory measure like FMT should be pursued while taking all stakeholders on board.