‘Selective exceptions diminish the credibility of the global nonproliferation framework,’ MOFA spokesperson Tahir Andrabi
Pakistan has expressed concerns over the long-term uranium supply deal between Canada and India and possible cooperation on small modular reactors and advanced reactor technologies between the two sides, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Responding to media questions, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan reiterates that “civil nuclear cooperation should be governed by a non-discriminatory, criteria-based approach, equally applicable to States that are not parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
The spokesperson said selective exceptions diminish the credibility of the global non-proliferation framework and risk further destabilizing regional and global peace and security.
He said this agreement represents another country-specific exception in the field of civil nuclear cooperation, and that it is “particularly ironic given that India’s nuclear test in 1974, conducted using plutonium produced in a reactor supplied by Canada for peaceful purposes, had led directly to the establishment of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.”
“A state whose actions required the establishment of global export controls is now being granted preferential access under selective agreements,” he said.
Tahir Andrabi said India has not placed all of its civilian nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency nor has it made any binding commitment to do so under this agreement. Several facilities remain outside international inspection. It is also unclear what specific nonproliferation guarantees, if any, accompany this agreement.
He said the strategic consequences are equally worrying, as “guaranteed external supplies of uranium effectively free up India’s domestic reserves for military use, allowing the expansion of its stockpile of fissile material, accelerating the growth of its nuclear arsenal and deepening existing asymmetries in South Asia’s strategic balance.” He added that, given this context, the agreement also undermines Canada’s commitment to the international non-proliferation regime and its corresponding obligations under that framework.
Agreement between India and Canada
India and Canada on Monday reached a series of agreements, including cooperation on critical minerals and a “historic” uranium supply deal for nuclear energy, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi.
The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney hailed a new beginning in the relationship between their nations.
“Our ties have seen new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said.
Carney’s visit is a key step in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi of orchestrating a deadly campaign against Sikh activists in Canada, accusations India rejected.
“There has been more engagement between the governments of Canada and India in the last year than in more than two decades combined,” Carney said in New Delhi, in a speech alongside Modi.
