By Shahzadi Tooba Hussain Syed
Efforts to include India into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) are mainly after the US aspiration and its grand long term agenda. It is actually a part of greater design to contain China and prevent the resurgence of Russia. It is reaffirmed recently by Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua. If the statement is viewed in terms of on-going global strategic power politics then to it would be right to narrate that it aimed to contain China, prevent the resurgence of Russia and keep the Muslim world in a controlled chaos.
The NSG was in fact founded in response to the Indian nuclear test back in May 1974, the 48 member NSG that seeks to reduce proliferation by controlling the export and retransfer of nuclear materials. Although, Indian nuclear tests caused the concerned nations to form this body now India too wants to join the NSG as it believes that this would lead to its recognition as a nuclear power worldwide. The United States supports India’s application. The clandestine diversion of nuclear material and equipment for the so-called Indian Peaceful Explosion of 1974 was the prime reason behind the creation of NSG, since 40 years. It is an open secret that the illicit act of breach its international agreements with Canada, i.e., diverted plutonium from the Candian-Indian Reactor, US (CIRUS) reactor provided solely for peaceful purpose, instigated South Asia region for another regional nuclear arms race.
India has been trying to get into NSG since 2008. While India is being backed by United States, Switzerland and Mexico for its membership of NSG it is being opposed by China, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan on the basis that a country which is a non signatory of NPT, CTBT etc should not be given the NSG membership. China is putting forward their arguments on the basis that if India is to be granted a seat in NSG, then all other South Asian countries like Pakistan which were non-signatory of NPT should be granted a seat too. Meanwhile Pakistan is opposing India’s entry merely because it doesn’t want India to possess high end technologies in the nuclear field. And Pakistan also fears that if India becomes a member it could prevent it from becoming a member just like how China is currently down voting India.
If India alone is admitted into the NSG it would have negative fallouts on the region that includes dimming of future prospects for Pakistan’s entry into the club and likely growth in India’s nuclear arsenal. For India, NSG membership could may boost its international standing as a responsible atomic power and also give it greater influence on issues related to global nuclear trade as many countries are already in line with similar kind of deals as of 2008.
The US commits to seek an agreement from the Congress to adjust US laws and policies, and that the United States will work with friends and allies to adjust international regimes to enable full civil nuclear energy cooperation and trade with India. Nevertheless, if the West merely to gain their economic benefits from the Asia’s third-largest economy- India, and slots for New Delhi in the NSG club then there would be a disaster for NSG’s credibility particularly given the irony of accumulating a member whose action was the very impetus for the organization’s establishment. It would be pertinent to say in this wake that west’s recent demands to sign CTBT, FMCT; restrain from FSD etc all is a joke without asking the country who actually was the first player in this regional race.
