AT UN, Pakistan reaffirms commitment to non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament

Against a backdrop of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, speakers in the General Assembly emphasized the urgent need for firm political will to advance towards the total elimination of all nuclear weapons.
Ministers and representatives of 46 Member States, including Pakistan, the United Nations system and civil society took the floor during a day-long General Assembly high-level meeting held to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
“We are fully committed to the goal of nuclear disarmament which is universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable,” Pakistan’s delegate Khalil Hashmi told the 193-member Assembly.
Pakistan, he said, would continue supporting all international efforts that sought promotion of fair and equitable solutions to disarmament and non-proliferation challenges.
“Regrettably, some states “in a zero-sum game” have been calling for measures that are cost-free for their own security, but have significant security implications for others,” the Pakistani delegate said.
“Such a discriminatory approach would weaken global disarmament efforts,” he added.
Urging the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to fully comply with all Security Council resolutions and to abandon its nuclear programme, the Pakistani delegate said recent nuclear tests underscored a global need to restrain all such activities.
Regretting to note the failure, despite his country’s efforts, to create a nuclear-weapon-free-zone in the region, he called for additional non-proliferation criteria and the Test-Ban Treaty’s accelerated entry into force, Hashmi said, adding that regional and global efforts complement each other and should be pursued in parallel.
“In the context of South Asia, which witnessed its
first nuclear test in 1974 followed by tests in 1998, notwithstanding Pakistan’s efforts to keep the region free of nuclear weapons, we would like to draw attention to Pakistan’s proposal for a legally binding bilateral arrangement on non-testing,” the Pakistani delegate added.

Source: APP