Pak envoy approaches US to seek support for NSG bid

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani has approached the White House, the State Department, important Congress leaders and significant think-tanks and opinion makers in the United States to support Pakistan's bid for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Jilani assured the American leadership that Pakistan shares international concerns against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, Radio Pakistan reports.

He said Pakistan's inclusion in the NSG would be the right decision to enhance international security, and added that it would not only go a long way in strengthening the international non-proliferation regime, but also help Islamabad enhance its capabilities in harnessing peaceful uses of nuclear technology in the fields of health, agriculture and power generation.

Last week, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi also pitched for Islamabad's NSG membership at the UN Security Council.

India and Pakistan are the two non-NPT states aspiring for the membership of the 48-member international nuclear trade body.

Many countries, including China, had opposed India's bid to join the NSG at its last meeting citing that the later has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is the basic criteria to enter NSG.