CTBT signing subject to talks: Vajpayee

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said that India was ready to sign the comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT) subject to the successful completion of the ongoing negotiations with key interlocutors.

"We are prepared to bring these discussions to a successful conclusion, so that the coming into force of the CTBT is not delayed beyond September 1999," the Prime Minister said in his address to the 53rd session of the UN General Assembly.

Mr Vajpayee said, "We expect that other countries as indicated in Article 14 of the CTBT will adhere to this treaty without conditions."

The Prime Minister did not name any key interlocutor but his obvious reference was to the security dialogue being conducted between his special emissary, Jaswant Singh, and US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott.

Mr Vajpayee chose to ignore the strong references to Kashmir made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his address to the General Assembly.

Mr Vajpayee, who spoke in Hindi, said the Pokhran nuclear tests did not signal any dilution of India’s commitment to the pursuit of global nuclear disarmament.

Accordingly, after concluding its limited testing programmes, India announced a voluntary moratorium on further underground nuclear tests, he noted.

"We conveyed our willingness to move towards a de jure formalisation of this obligation. In announcing a moratorium India has already accepted the basic obligation of the CTBT.

"In 1996, India could not have accepted the obligation as such a restraint would have eroded our capability and compromised our national security," he said.

"India having harmonised its national imperatives and security obligations and desirous of continuing to cooperate with the international community is now engaged in discussions with key interlocutors on a range of issues, including the CTBT," Mr Vajpayee said.

Diplomats said that 44 countries were yet to sign the CTBT.

Mr Vajpayee said, "After protracted discussions, the conference on disarmament (CD) in Geneva is now in a position to begin negotiations on a treaty that will prohibit the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. Once again, we are conscious that this is a partial step."

Stating that "such a treaty, as and when it is concluded and enters into force, will not eliminate the existing nuclear arsenals," the Prime Minister said. "Yet, we will participate in the negotiations in good faith in order to ensure a treaty that is non-discriminatory and meets India’s security imperatives."

The Prime Minister said India would pay serious attention to any other multilateral initiatives in this area during the course of negotiations at the CD.

Declaring that India as a responsible state was committed to non-proliferation and shall not transfer weapons or related knowhow to other countries, Mr Vajpayee asked the nuclear weapon powers and the international community to join India’s proposal to arrive at an agreement before the end of millennium on a phased programme for complete elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Defending the May nuclear tests by India, Mr Vajpayee said the blasts were essential for ensuring a credible nuclear deterrence for the country’s national security in the foreseeable future.

"These tests do not signal a dilution of India’s commitment to the pursuit of global nuclear disarmament," the Prime Minister said.

Without naming Pakistan, the Prime Minister said India has had to cope with terrorism aided and abetted by the neighbouring country for nearly two decades.

"We have borne this with patience but no one should doubt the strength of our resolve to crush this challenge," he said, adding that terrorism which had linkages with illicit trade in drugs, arms and money laundering, had gone global and it could be only defeated by organised international actions.

On NAM proposals for an international conference next year to develop a collective response to terrorism, Mr Vajpayee said such a conference should launch the process of negotiations for an international convention to provide for collective action against states and organisations which initiated or aided and abetted terrorism.

Two PMs, two voices
From Hari Jaisingh

NEW YORK, Sept 24 — Old habits die hard, so goes the saying. And who can be a better person to prove this than Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Within two hours of his being party to the all-sweet and conciliatory joint declaration with India, he was back to his favourite game of decrying New Delhi for all the ills in the world. The central theme in this anti-India outburst during his address to the 53rd session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday was Kashmir.

In sharp contrast to the anti-India hysteria of Mr Sharif at the UN, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at his unscheduled press conference after his luncheon meeting with the Pakistani Prime Minister, was all positive.

The contrast in style and content between the two Prime Ministers was obvious. Mr Vajpayee held the joint statement and detailed framework for bilateral talks as "a new chapter" in Indo-Pakistan cooperation. In fact, he made a number of important announcements to prove his point:

1. There will be a direct bus service from Delhi to Lahore.

2. Visa rules between the two countries will be relaxed.

3. Steps will be taken to establish a new road-cum-rail link between Manubah (Rajasthan) and Khokhaparan on the Pakistani side.

4. The hotline between the two Prime Ministers will be revived.

5. Concerted efforts will be made to encourage trade and closer economic cooperation between the two countries. In this context, India has agreed to buy electricity from Pakistan.

6. Firing on the Line of Control will be stopped.

7. The two governments will take care to stop propaganda against each other.

8. There will be increased cultural exchanges.

Mr Vajpayee brushed aside suggestion for a joint defence pact. "Joint defence pact against whom?", the Prime Minister asked and added, "There is no need for it. Let us be good neighbours".

Mr Vajpayee emphasised that the minorities in India "are safe" and said, "India is a secular country. Every citizen is treated on an equal footing. All have equal rights. In fact, there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan. Anyone is welcome to see things for himself".

Mr Vajpayee was speaking to newsmen almost at the same time when Mr Sharif was addressing the UN Assembly with his usual anti-India slant. The Pakistani Prime Minister blamed Indian leaders for adopting belligerent postures towards Islamabad after the nuclear tests. He claimed that they told Pakistan to give up its "principled support for Kashmiri’s self-determination" since the "geo-strategic balance" had changed.

Mr Sharif talked about the "nightmare" of the Kashmiri people and "high tension" on the Line of Control. He blamed India for its failure to honour its commitment under the UN resolutions to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir. He, of course, conveniently forgot about Pakistan’s part of the commitment for such an exercise.

Duplicity is part of Pakistan’s diplomacy. Like his several predecessors, Mr Sharif too is adept in the art of distorting facts. He even exploited the recent annual report of the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, and sought the strengthening and enhancing the mandate of the UN Military Observers Group (UNMOGIP). He said that the Security Council should regularly monitor the volatile situation along the Line of Control.

The only silver lining in Mr Sharif’s UN address was his acknowledgement of the resumption of the dialogue with India. He declared that his government was committed to resolving Pakistan’s "problems" with India through a dialogue.

Well, will the real Mr Sharif stand up? Interestingly, the Pakistani Prime Minister blamed New Delhi for Islamabad’s decision. He, however, linked Pakistan’s signature to the CTBT to India’s commitment to the treaty. Here he insisted on the principle of equal treatment with India, "be it in terms of status or any kind of incentives".

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses the 53rd session of the General Assembly on Wednesday. — AP/PTI

Pak willing to sign CTBT UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (PTI, UNI, Reuters) — Pakistan has expressed its willingness to sign the CTBT before September next year when a conference to review it is due but attached several conditions, including pressure on India to sign the treaty.

Pakistan wanted the international community to pressurise India to sign the treaty and reserved the right to invoke the clause which would allow it to get out of it if India conducted a nuclear test, Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif said here.

He announced his country’s readiness to sign the treaty in the context of Monday’s assurance to US President Bill Clinton that he would make a "positive statement" about the comprehensive test ban treaty during his address to the UN.

Mr Sharif said the international community should help resolve the Kashmir issue in return (of signing the CTBT), which he said, "is the core of its problems with India".

In his half an hour address to the world body, he repeatedly referred to Kashmir, demanding implementation of the UN’s resolutions.

The Pakistani Prime Minister also demanded an early lifting of sanctions imposed by international financial institutions and industrial countries in the wake of its nuclear tests in May this year.

Speaking a few hours after a breakthrough in his talks with his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr Sharif stressed the need for the resolution of the Kashmir issue on the basis of the UN resolutions.

He referred in a positive way to the outcome of his meeting with Mr Vajpayee but said the UN and the international community had a responsibility to "support and facilitate" a solution to Jammu and Kashmir.

"I am happy to say that, at meeting which concluded a short while ago Prime Minister Vajpayee and I have reached an agreement to resume the dialogue with the commencement of Foreign Secretary-level talks which will address the primary issues of peace and security and Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

However, the underlying theme of his speech was criticism of India and he devoted a major part to Kashmir, accusing Indian security forces of atrocities and calling for a plebiscite among other things.

He launched a tirade against India for adopting a "belligerent posture" against Pakistan immediately after the nuclear tests.

Islamabad was forced to conduct the tests "in response" because of "weak" world reaction to Indian tests and efforts to pressurise Pakistan against testing its nuclear devices, Mr Sharif told the 185-member General Assembly.

"Even after India conducted the tests, the response of the major powers was weak and ambiguous: once again greater energy was spent on restraining Pakistan than in responding to India," he said.

"Immediately after its tests, Indian leaders adopted a belligerent posture towards Pakistan. They told us the geo-strategic balance had changed and Pakistan should abandon its principled support for plebiscite in Kashmir," Mr Sharif said.

"Pakistan faced threat of force. We were forced to convince India that any military aggression against Pakistan would have most disastrous consequences," he added, justifying the nuclear tests.

Stating that Indian tests threatened Pakistan’s security and sovereignty, Mr Sharif said Pakistan’s tests were not conducted to challenge the existing non-proliferation regime or to fulfil any great power ambition.

"They were designed to prevent the threat or use of force against Pakistan. Our tests in response to India thus served the cause of peace," he said.

Pakistan, he said, was prepared to strengthen the peace and stability in the region by mutually agreed measures to avoid a war, create a regime of nuclear restraint and promote solutions to the underlying causes of conflict, in particular Jammu and Kashmir.

On the nuclear issue, Pakistan would insist on the principle of equal treatment with India, be it terms of status or any kind of incentive, he added.
Mr Sharif also called for redressing "growing imbalance" in conventional forces between India and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warmly welcomed Pakistan’s pledge to sign a global nuclear test ban treaty.

In a statement issued after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made the announcement in the UN General Assembly yesterday, Mr Annan said: "The Government of Pakistan is to be commended for heeding the concern of the international community."

He said ever since India and Pakistan carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May this year he had pressed them to sign the comprehensive test ban treaty and join negotiations to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and halt the deployment of nuclear weapons.

The CTBT, agreed in 1996, had now been signed by 150 states and ratified by 21, including two nuclear-weapon states, Britain and France.

China meanwhile, has deplored the recent nuclear tests conducted by India, saying that they were undertaken against the "tide of times" and affected adversely peace and stability in South Asia..

The Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr Tang Jiaxuan, while speaking in the UN General Assembly yesterday, said the tests were to be regretted, but he refrained from using the phrase in regard to the tests conducted by Islamabad. He merely said Pakistan, too, conducted nuclear tests.

NEW YORK: Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tokyo may ease sanctions on Pakistan after the country shows readiness to sign a nuclear test ban treaty.

"If Pakistan clarifies its stance, we want to ask major countries to cooperate in removing a freeze on loans to it," Mr Komura told Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz yesterday, officials said.

The two held a meeting here as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said it would adhere to a treaty banning underground nuclear tests in the coming year once sanctions were lifted.

Pak Army against signing CTBT

ISLAMABAD, Sept 24 (ANI) — As Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discusses the modalities of signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty with US officials, including President Bill Clinton, the country’s military chief has cautioned against doing so under pressure or coercion.

"Pakistan should avoid taking a decision on signing the CTBT in haste until the country’s security and economic concerns are properly addressed," Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Army Staff General Jahangir Karamat said yesterday.

"We should carefully evaluate the situation before taking a final decision on the CTBT," he maintained while speaking at a reception hosted by the Qatar Embassy in Islamabad to mark its National Day.

"The opportunity should be availed and the decision on the treaty should be taken in the best interest of the country," General Karamat emphasised.

"The Army and political leadership are unanimous on the CTBT issue and there is no difference of opinion between the two," he said dismissing speculations of differences.

Apart from national security, he said the biggest problem facing Pakistan was the deteriorating economic situation which had not only affected the nation, but the military as well.

"The armed forces are ready to sacrifice, but in a way that does not affect their professional excellence," he said.

Sharif raises Kashmir issue at UN

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (UNI) — Pakistan last night made another attempt at internationalising the Kashmir issue, urging the international community’s support to solve the 50-year-old dispute.

In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, made a strong case for the major powers, particularly the USA, playing the role of a mediator in Kashmir.

During his meeting with US President Bill Clinton here on Monday, Mr Nawaz Sharif had called for US intervention in Kashmir. But Mr Clinton parried the demand saying India was against such an idea. New Delhi favours settlement of all its bilateral problems with Pakistan through direct talks as envisaged in the 1972 Simla Agreement.

Mr Sharif squarely blamed India for Pakistan’s decision to conduct nuclear tests in May and claimed that the tests were designed to prevent the threat or use of force against Pakistan and they served the cause of peace and stability in the region.