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MUNICH (Germany): India and Pakistan pledged to work to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction but reiterated that neither would sign up to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the NPT.

“There is no hope ... that India will sign the NPT, but India is prepared to join the international community to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” said Brajesh Mishra, India’s national security advisor.

Mishra said that India needed more nuclear power plants to produce extra electricity in the coming years, possibly as much as 200,000 megawatts in the long-term.

Kasuri confers with Mishra

Speaking with Mishra at the close of a security conference here on Sunday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said that his country would do its utmost to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.

“We will fulfil the non-proliferation requirements there is no question about that,” he said. “It is not something that is in our interest that proliferation takes place.”

Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in May 1998 in a tit-for-tat response to similar detonations by India.

Pakistan's Pledge

Addressing the 40th Security Conference at Munich, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said that Pakistan will continue to play its role for nuclear non-proliferation. He said Pakistan will firmly follow its commitment to maintain the global peace and harmony.

He said Pakistan is today engaged in a comprehensive war against terrorism and said that Pakistan’s actions are consistent with our moral principles, national interest and our vision of Pakistan as a modern, tolerant and democratic Islamic State.

Because of our actions, over 500 Al-Qaeda operatives and associates, including some key figures, were arrested during the last two years.

Kasuri said we have deployed troops along the Pakistan-Afghan border to locate and interdict terrorist suspects.

Quick Reaction Force

He said Pakistan has developed an effective intelligence network based on human intelligence, technological capabilities and aerial surveillance backed by an effective Quick Reaction Force.

He said “We are also adopting measures to choke the sources of terrorist financing.”

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan will continue to make a positive contribution to peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East. He said the interlocking regions of the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia will greatly benefit from a stable strategic and security environment.

He said this will open new opportunities for economic and social development and enable Pakistan to play its geo-political role as a bridge of economic cooperation and mutual prosperity between the three regions which contain about one-third of the world population, with South Asia alone accounting for approximately one quarter.

The whole region comprises moderate states that want to eradicate extremism and radicalism.

He said, “we firmly believe that a wide range of measures involving both the Muslim governments and the western world are needed to eliminate the breeding ground for terrorism and extremism.”

Composite Dialogue

Kasuri said, “we will shortly commence a composite dialogue process between Pakistan and India to resolve all outstanding, issues, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.”

He said after years of stalled negotiations and the acrimony that characterized relations between Pakistan and India, the leaders of the two countries have embarked upon the path of peaceful settlement of disputes.

Kasuri said Pakistan hopes that the dialogue will be sustained and fruitful and it wants to resolve peacefully all the disputes, especially over Jammu and Kashmir, and to build a stable structure of peace and security in South Asia which is acceptable to Pakistan and India and of course responsive to the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Middle East

Kasuri said close relations with the Middle East have been a central plank of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Even before Pakistan’s independence, the leadership of Pakistan’s freedom movement expressed its solidarity with the people of Palestine and called for the protection of their rights.

He said although the question of Palestine has been haunting the world for the last one century, its significance has increased manifold after the tragic events of 9/11 and the Middle East today holds the key to regional and global peace and harmony.

Kasuri said United States and Europe have a responsibility to use their full political weight to realise the vision of two states, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace within secure and recognised boundaries.

The Minister said a strong international commitment, especially by the United Nations, United States and Europe, is needed to secure the implementation of the road map.

Iraq

He said international efforts must be guided by the objectives of restoring Iraq’s sovereignty and political independence, and ensuring its unity and territorial integrity as well as upholding the rights of the Iraqis to determine their own future and control their own natural resources.

Adherence to the principles of the United Nations’ Charter is the only assurance for a better, safer and prosperous world, he added.