UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan urged India to agree to Prime Minister Nawaz. Sharif’s proposal for convening a five nation conference aimed at ensuring nuclear nonproliferation and establishing a nuclear weapon free zone in South Asia.
Speaking in the General Assembly’s Political and Security Committee, the Foreign Affairs Secretary-general, Akram Zaki, also stressed the need for steps to reduce and control conventional weapons both globally and at the regional level.
The first committee, as it is officially called, on Monday began a live day session to discuss a report of Secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali entitled “new dimensions of arms regulation and disarmament in the post-cold war era.” It will also discuss the electiveness of the existing multilateral arms control and disarmament machinery, in particular the roles of the first committee, the conference on disarmament and the disarmament commission, as well as that of the office for disarmament affairs.
Akram Zaki said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s proposal, made in June 1991; envisaged consultations among the United States, the Russian Federation, China, India and Pakistan lo achieve the objective of denuclearization of the South Asian region.
“This proposal has been supported by four of the five proposed participants and welcomed by the world community,” he told the committee, “We sincerely hope the one country which has not agreed so far will also take a positive view.”
Zaki welcomed the recognition the U.N. Secretary-general’s report gave to regional approach towards disarmament and confidence building measures, saying Pakistan had made 4 number of proposals for an equitable and nondiscriminatory regime that would establish a nuclear weapon free zone in the region.
Pakistan had also proposed measures for conventional arms reduction and disarmament in South Asia, including an agreement between India and Pakistan on mutually agreed reduction of conventional forces to the lowest level of armaments in consistent with security needs, Zaki said.
As part of the globisation of disarmament, he said, unilateral and reciprocal disarmament measures at the regional and sub-regional levels were very important However, in cases where there are vast military imbalances, the main responsibility for creating a climate of confidence rested with the country with greater military capability and arsenals.
He said arms producing countries should undertake both to re= duce such production and to regulate and restrict the sale and transfer of armaments to other countries.
“Restraints on arms transfers should reduce but not I heighten imbalances in the military capabilities of states in any region.
On nuclear nonproliferation, Zaki said the international community should aim for a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty and legally binding instruments to assure non-nuclear weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons,
“Nuclear nonproliferation would be readily accepted if it was pursued in an equitable and nondiscriminatory manner,” he said. The United Nations must assume a central role in the verification and implementation of disarmament agreements, Zaki said.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 9, 1993
