Pakistan today voiced grave concerns that a new long-term uranium supply agreement between Canada and India will enable New Delhi to expand its nuclear arsenal, further destabilising the strategic balance in South Asia.
In a response to media queries, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi articulated Pakistan’s official position, stressing that civil nuclear cooperation must be governed by a non-discriminatory, criteria-based approach applicable to all states not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
He asserted that selective exceptions, such as the recent Canada-India accord, diminish the credibility of the global non-proliferation framework and risk upsetting regional and global peace.
The spokesperson described the arrangement as particularly ironic, recalling that India”s 1974 nuclear test-conducted with plutonium from a Canadian-supplied reactor intended for peaceful use-was the direct catalyst for the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. “A state whose actions necessitated the establishment of global export controls is now being granted preferential access under selective arrangements,” he noted.
Mr Andrabi highlighted that India has neither placed all its civilian nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards nor offered any binding commitment to do so under this new pact, leaving several installations outside international inspection. He added it was unclear what concrete non-proliferation assurances, if any, accompany the agreement.
The strategic consequences were described as equally troubling, with the spokesperson explaining that assured external uranium supplies effectively release India”s domestic reserves for military use. This, he said, enables an expansion of its fissile material stockpiles and accelerates the growth of its nuclear arsenal, while also undermining Canada”s own commitment to the international non-proliferation regime.