Recognising India and Pakistan as Nuclear States Would Hurt Non-Proliferation Treaty - Moscow

Both India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons and, along with Israel and South Sudan, they are not parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Vladimir Yermakov said on Wednesday that recognising India and Pakistan as nuclear states would be catastrophic for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"The world is developing swiftly, technologies, including those in the nuclear field, are becoming available to more states. The fact that India, Pakistan, and Israel possess nuclear weapons doesn't help strengthen the Non-Proliferation Treaty. There is no way of discussing the possibility of Indian and Pakistan joining the treaty as nuclear states. Such recognition would be catastrophic for the treaty itself”, Yermakov said.

While experiencing years of tense relations, both India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons without being parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In 1988, the two countries signed an agreement on the exchange of the list of their nuclear facilities. The agreement went into force in 1991 and since then, Pakistan and India inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities covered under the deal annually.

Last year, when relations between the two South Asian countries reached their lowest point, leaders from Pakistan threatened India with a nuclear attack while Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also announced his country might consider changing its nuclear weapons doctrine by doing away with a “no first use policy” in the future.