Pak under pressure from US to sign nuclear material cut-off treaty
By ANIThursday, January 28, 2010
WASHINGTON - Pakistan is under tremendous pressure from the United States to sign the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT), American media reports.
While the US says the treaty must be signed in 2010, Pakistan maintains that India should also be asked to cut-down its nuclear stockpile.
The Obama administration is pushing the United Nations’ disarmament body to persuade Pakistan to join the FMCT talks in Geneva, The Dawn reports.
Pakistan is of the view that India enjoys an undue advantage and is gaining disproportionate power in South Asia after the 2008 civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the US
The Geneva disarmament conference can move forward only by consensus. This allows Pakistan to block agreement on a US proposal for a work plan, the next step in the negotiation process.
The FMCT has largely remained in suspended animation at the UN for the past 12 years, but the Obama administration is now demanding that ban should be implemented exactly as it is proposed currently. (ANI)
