NSG membership: Pursuing own policy, not concerned about Pak, says India

Pakistan government claimed that its 'active and successful foreign policy' has blocked India's entry to the NSG.

Update: 2016-06-15 04:07 GMT
Minister of State for External Affairs General (Retd.) V.K. Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz (Photo: PTI/AP)

Mumbai: Taking a strong exception to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz's statement wherein he said the Pakistan government's 'active and successful foreign policy' has blocked India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Minister of State for External Affairs General (Retd.) V.K. Singh has said New Delhi is pursuing its own policy and is not concerned with what Islamabad is saying.

"India is pursuing its own policy. We are not concerned with what Pakistan is saying. Media might be, but we are not," Singh said on Tuesday.

Read: India will not join Nuclear Suppliers Group alone: Pakistan

During a debate in the Senate on an adjournment motion regarding the agreement signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan for development of the Chabahar Port, Aziz had on Monday said that Pakistan has been successful in preventing India from gaining access to the NSG.

"I am hopeful that whenever it happens, we will both join it together and India will not be able to join the NSG alone," the Dawn quoted Aziz as saying.

Read: Pak’s credentials stronger than India for NSG membership: Aziz

He also said that he had recently approached many countries, including Russia, Mexico, South Korea and New Zealand, to gain their support on Islamabad's viewpoint that there should be a criteria-based approach while deciding about inclusion of any country to the NSG.

Aziz had earlier said that Islamabad's credentials for the NSG membership are stronger than New Delhi if the 48-nation cartel agrees to form uniform criteria for non-NPT states.

Read: Countries resisting India's bid to join NSG soften stand

The NSG is a 48-nation club dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that could foster nuclear weapons development.

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