National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): A close collaboration between Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI) and Afghan National Directorate of
Security (NDS) would help check terrorist activities, Prime
Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Friday.
Addressing a press conference here, the Advisor expressed
confidence that a close ISI-NDS working relationship would result in
effective border management with Afghanistan.
Sartaj Aziz said the response by Pakistani border forces in retaliation to firing from terrorists and drug smugglers to trespass, was often mistaken by Afghan side as unprovoked firing from Pakistan.
A trust-worthy exchange of information and intelligence sharing would check the inflow of terrorists, he added.
The Adviser said though several clues pointed to involvement
of Indian intelligence agency RAW in the recent Quetta terrorist
incident, however “Pakistan would not want finger-pointing without
solid proof”.
He said the Indian serving officer Kalbhushun Yadav arrested
on spying charges was running a network in Pakistan and investigations were in progress to find his links with the Quetta
incident.
The Adviser said Pakistan was considering to translate its
unilateral moratorium of Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) of
nuclear material into a bilateral arrangement on non-testing with
India.
Sartaj Aziz terming it a “one-step ahead” in Pakistan’s
commitment to nuclear non-proliferation said the ball would be in
India’s court to endorse the objective.
Despite being non-signatory to the Treaty, Pakistan maintains
a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing.
Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan consistently supported CTBT after it
voted on adoption by the UN General Assembly in 1996.
He said Pakistan’s strong lobbying efforts for membership of
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) had yielded positive results.
Pakistan’s arguments for criteria-based approach, and the
impact of any India-specific exemption on the strategic stability in
South Asia and on the future of non-proliferation regime, has been
accepted by several NSG countries, he added.
“It’s not only that we aim at blocking India. It’s the
strategic stability to which Pakistan and India are inter-dependent
upon,” he said.
He said Pakistan was committed not to transfer nuclear weapons
to other states or assist others to acquire nuclear weapons.
He said Pakistan was confident of the merits of its membership
application, with its export controls fully harmonized with those of
NSG, Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and Australia Group.
The Adviser mentioned the recent three steps taken to
strengthen nuclear safety including public statement on nuclear test
moratorium, ratification of the 2005 amendment to the Convention on
Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and declaring
adherence to NSG guidelines.
He said the issue of NSG membership could not be separated
from the consideration of strategic stability in the region.
“In 2008, the NSG missed an opportunity to promote
simultaneous adherence to non-proliferation benchmarks by Pakistan
and India, as a part of a package deal, which would have promoted
restraint and stability in the region,” he said.
The Advisor said, “We are formally inviting NSG Troika (Korea,
Argentina and Switzerland) to visit Pakistan for a detailed briefing
on our credentials.”