'Nuclear doublespeak has only aggravated sense of insecurity': Pak at UN

Pakistan has strongly criticized the double standards practiced by some states, which preach nuclear disarmament but fail to take necessary steps themselves.

Speaking at a session of the UN Disarmament Commission, a subsidiary of the General Assembly, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said that a handful of nuclear weapon states advocate abstinence for others but are unwilling to give up their large inventories of nuclear weapons or their modernisation.

"This doublespeak has only aggravated the sense of insecurity among other states," she told the 35-member commission.

"Instead of fulfilling their legal disarmament obligations, these states have almost exclusively pursued non-proliferation" the Pakistani envoy added.

The Ambassador stressed that double standards were not only evident on nuclear issues but also in the areas of conventional arms.

"While professing strict adherence to responsible arms transfers, some powerful states continue to supply increasing number of conventional weapons in our region, thereby aggravating instability in South Asia", the Pakistani envoy said.

Lodhi also explained that as a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan's nuclear policy is shaped by the evolving security dynamics in South Asia.

"Our nuclear capability is geared towards assuring our security and self-defence, based on credible minimum deterrence," Dawn quoted her as saying.

Hinting towards the US-India nuclear pacts, Lodhi said some nuclear weapon states have also concluded discriminatory nuclear cooperation agreements.

She said the progress towards nuclear disarmament is being delayed and hindered by some who wish to divert the Conference on Disarmament's focus to partial non-proliferation measures such as a Fissile Materials Cut Off Treaty (FMCT).

The Pakistani envoy said it was a grim irony that weapons, which propel and sustain conflicts, come from areas or regions that enjoy peace.