Pakistani, Russian Views on Nuclear Disarmament, Terror Fight Align

Islamabad and Moscow have similar positions on nuclear disarmament and on counterterror operations, Pakistani Deputy Foreign Minister Tasneem Aslam told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The deputy foreign minister said that Pakistan had applied to become the member of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and was hoping that Russia would understand Islamabad's position on nuclear energy and its motivation for joining the group.

"Pakistan and Russia have very close perceptions [on fight against terrorism and nuclear disarmament]," Aslam said.

The NSG, founded in 1974, aims to further limit nuclear arms development and has 48 members.

India and Pakistan are both NSG candidates, but Pakistan, which first applied for membership in May and reiterated its request in August, has fewer supporters of its bid among the members of the group than its neighbor due to alleged contribution to nuclear programs of Iran, Libya, North Korea.

Nowadays, a small number of countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China are the only countries recognized as nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.