India concerned over N-proliferation in neighbourhood: Rao

RAO-NUCLEAR


Boston, Sep 21 (PTI) Amid reports of Sino-Pak plans to
set up a new giant atomic power plant in Pakistan, India has
said it has been affected by clandestine nuclear proliferation
in its neighbourhood and is concerned about the possibility of
atomic terrorism in the region.
"We believe that the challenges of nuclear terrorism and
nuclear security have to be addressed. We have been affected
by clandestine nuclear proliferation in our neighbourhood. We
are naturally concerned about the possibility of nuclear
terrorism given the security situation in our neighbourhood,"
India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said while delivering a
lecture at the Harvard University Monday.
India has, therefore, taken the lead at the UN General
Assembly on an effective law-based international response,
including on WMD terrorism, she noted.
"India has joined the Russia-US led Global Initiative to
Combat Nuclear Terrorism. The first Nuclear Security Summit
hosted by President (Barack) Obama in April 2010 was an
important milestone in our efforts," Rao said.
Her comments came amid reports that Beijing and Islamabad
were in talks to set up a new giant one gigawatt atomic power
plant in Pakistan.
Qiu Jiangang, Vice President of the state-run China
National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has already helped
in building Pakistan's main nuclear facility at Chashma in
Punjab province, was quoted as saying by the 'Wall Street
Journal' that his company was in talks to set up another giant
nuclear plant in Pakistan.
During her lecture, Rao highlighted India's long-standing
commitment to global, non-discriminatory and verifiable
nuclear disarmament.
"We have identified some initiatives that I believe could
be explored further as building blocks of a new global,
verifiable nuclear disarmament framework.
"These include: a global agreement on 'no-first-use' of
nuclear-weapons and non-use against non-nuclear weapon states;
measures to reduce nuclear danger through de-alerting,
reducing salience of nuclear weapons in security doctrines and
preventing unintentional or accidental use; a Nuclear Weapons
Convention prohibiting development, production, stockpiling
and use of nuclear weapons and on their destruction," she
said. PTI KIM
MRD