Clubbed with Pak on NPT obligations, India unhappy

An international commission on disarmament has recognised that India will not sign Non Proliferation Treaty, but has disappointed it by clubbing it with Pakistan and Israel in terms of non-proliferation and disarmament obligations.

The report of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament admits the reality that India, Israel and Pakistan will not join the NPT as non-nuclear weapon state, nor will the NPT admit the three as nuclear weapon states.

It advocates applying "equivalent non-proliferation and disarmament obligations" to all -- India, Israel and Pakistan -- sources said, adding this was a disappointing mention, as the obligations should be based on the varying track record of the respective countries.

The advocacy of equivalent obligations amounts to ignoring the "differentiated nuclear histories and records of all the nuclear armed states", sources said on Tuesday.

The suggestion for non-proliferation 'disciplines' for non-NPT states also ignores India's existing commitments and responsible behaviour in comparison with the NPT five and Pakistan, the sources noted.

On the disarmament process, the report advocates a staged approach but without a final deadline, another point that has disappointed India which wants a timeline to be set for complete dismantling of atomic weapons as outlined by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The Commission, which was formed last year at the initiative of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda and includes former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra as one of the 15 members, talks about a "minimisation point" of a total no more than 2000 nuclear warheads to be reached in 2025 after which the world would move towards complete elimination.

India feels this amounts to missing an important opportunity to advance the debate on nuclear disarmament, as it does not consider some promising ideas on reducing the role of nuclear weapons, on building partnerships with non-NPT states and on taking multilateral negotiations on disarmament to their logical conclusion.

Another disappointing factor from India's point of view is the silence of the report on dealing with atomic weapons of a country stockpiled in another nation. An example in this regard is the US weapons stationed in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries.

The report, however, advocates de-legitimisation of nuclear weapons, a view that has been emphasised by India for long.

India's view is also reflected in a suggestion that the eight "nuclear armed states" -- the US, UK, France, Russia and China plus India, Pakistan and Israel -- should adopt a no-first use or a modified non-first use policy.

Like India, it also endorses the idea of a Nuclear Weapons Convention as the preferred instrument for nuclear disarmament and the Conference on Disarmament as the preferred forum for negotiations on nuclear disarmament.

India has been saying that existence of three countries with nuclear weapons outside the NPT regime -- India, Pakistan and Israel -- is a reality and the commission has acknowledged this as 'three elephants outside the room'.

The world will have to work with these three countries and build bridges, India feels and sees the grant of waiver by the Nuclear Suppliers Group as one such bridge.

India feels that judgment should be applied and the three nations should not be put in the same basket in terms of obligations in view of their "separate records".

It rejects criticism of the civil nuclear initiative and the claim that it would lead to proliferation and opposes efforts to shore up NPT in the guise of something else.

As it refuses to sign the "flawed framework" of NPT, New Delhi feels that there could be alternate systems to ensure safety of the world. Some may be even comfortable with Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty or Nuclear Weapons Convention.

India does not want to give too much importance to NPT's recognition or non-recognition, saying it does not need "any certificate" about its nuclear weapon programme.

At the same time, India does not expect the NPT to be amended to accommodate it as it would open a pandora's box with Pakistan, North Korea and Israel also seeking entry.

The report recognises the danger of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists and prescribes steps to guard against the threat. These steps would be deliberated upon at the Nuclear Summit to be held in the US in April.

Despite being disappointed at some contents, India feels it can work with the world community on the basis of the report and provide useful contributions to the ongoing discussions on disarmament.