PAKISTAN on Thursday raised its genuine concerns on the long-term uranium supply agreement concluded recently between Canada and India, and potential cooperation on small modular reactors and advanced reactor technologies between the two sides.
It pointed out that this arrangement represents yet another country-specific exception in the field of civil nuclear cooperation and strategic consequences, which are equally troubling.
The deal is a classic example of nuclear apartheid as Canada is the same country which turned its back on its contractual obligations vis-à-vis fuel supply for KANUPP, Karachi and that too in reaction to the nuclear explosion by India in 1974. Canada backtracked under the US pressure on the plea of nuclear proliferation and Pakistan’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and stopped nuclear fuel, heavy water, spare parts and technical assistance for the Karachi plant. The highly discriminatory move proved a blessing in disguise as the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was forced to start manufacturing its own fuel and spare parts on an emergency basis to keep the plant operational, with the first locally made fuel loaded in 1980. It is, however, regrettable that Canada was not inclined to resume civil nuclear cooperation with Pakistan but has entered into a deal with India, which has ramifications for the regional nuclear landscape. The Foreign Office has rightly pointed out that the strategic consequences are troubling, as assured external uranium supplies effectively release India’s domestic reserves for military use, enabling the expansion of its fissile material stockpiles, accelerating the growth of its nuclear arsenal and deepening existing asymmetries in South Asia’s strategic balance. The deal, once again, unmasks double standards of the West on the nuclear issue.
