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Experts say yes to CTBT, no to NPT

Shyam Saran told reporters in Pittsburg that India will not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.

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Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary and prime minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy on climate change, told reporters in Pittsburg on Friday that India will not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapon state.

Does this mean that if the nuclear five - the US, China, Russia, the UK and France — are ready to accommodate India, New Delhi will sign the NPT? Saran’s words can only be interpreted as India refusing to come on board as a non-nuclear weapon state.
Many in the Indian political establishment say there is no reason not to sign the NPT if we are given the same status as the five in the exclusive nuclear club.

Another former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh said: “We should sign the NPT as a nuclear weapon state, there is no problem if we are given that status.’’

However, it is unlikely that New Delhi will be allowed that. No exclusive club likes to extend the charmed circle. If India comes in, what happens to Pakistan which is also nuclear-capable?

“India should take a principled position and not sign the NPT even if by chance it is accommodated. It will be hypocrisy. We should not go on board whatever the circumstance,” a senior government official said.

Analyst G Parthasarathy had a different take on the UNSC resolution adopted in New York on Thursday. “UN resolutions which are non-biding and do not come under chapter 7 of the UNSC regulations, may sound great on paper but are of little value. These cannot be enforced.”

External affairs minister SM Krishna said in New York on Friday that India had taken a “principled” stand on CTBT and there was no scope for a change, unless a number of other “developments” took place. He did not

Despite the government’s stand that it will not sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), chances are it may change its view in the long run. Much will depend on how the Obama administration’s efforts to get it ratified in the US Congress pan out. Once the US Congress ratifies it, China will follow suit and the pressure on India will increase.

“If the rest of the world does so, India will also have to come around. India cannot be seen to defy the spirit of the age,” analyst Salman Haider said.

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