ISLAMABAD: Pakistan welcomed the joint statement by permanent-5 members of the UN Security Council on “Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races” as a positive development, saying that it can pave the way for concrete measures for strategic stability at the global and regional levels.

“The Joint Statement by the P-5 on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races is a positive development,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar, while commenting on the understanding among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, which was released through a joint statement on January 3, 2022.

As a responsible nuclear weapons State, the spokesperson said that Pakistan supports the objectives of global and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, in line with the stipulations of the First Special Session on Disarmament of the UN General Assembly (SSOD-I) – with equal and undiminished security being the defining consideration.

He said that the P-5 statement rightly acknowledges the imperative of creating conducive security environment for meaningful progress on nuclear disarmament. This will include addressing the underlying security concerns of States, pacific settlement of outstanding disputes, and cessation of destabilizing arms build ups that accentuate asymmetries, he added.

In the context of South Asia, Iftikhar said that Pakistan’s proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime, encompassing nuclear and missile restraint, conventional balance and settlement of disputes, can contribute significantly towards maintaining strategic stability and avoiding military conflict. This will also entail eschewing misplaced notions of space for war in a nuclearised environment, he added.

“Pakistan fully agrees with the need for effective measures by all nuclear powers to guard against any unauthorized or unintended use of nuclear weapons,” he added.

Through the joint statement, the P-5 of the UNSC, stated: “We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons — for as long as they continue to exist — should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war. We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented.”

“We reaffirm the importance of addressing nuclear threats and emphasize the importance of preserving and complying with our bilateral and multilateral non-proliferation, disarmament, and arms control agreements and commitments.

We remain committed to our Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligations, including our Article VI obligation to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control,” the joint statement added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022