India Reaffirms Refusal to Sign Nuclear Treaty
India does not intend to sign a global treaty banning atomic testing in the near future, the country’s national security advisor said in comments published Saturday.
Brajesh Mishra’s comments on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty came just days before Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to the United States to address the United Nations and meet with President Clinton.
Mishra, who is also the principal secretary to Vajpayee, reiterated India’s position that a decision on signing the treaty would be made only after a political consensus was arrived at in India, the United News of India news agency reported.
In an interview with the weekly magazine Outlook, to be published Sept. 11, Mishra said India had no plans to sign the treaty “before or after Mr. Vajpayee’s visit.” An advance copy of the interview was made available to the news agency.
The United States and other nations imposed sanctions on India and Pakistan and pressed them to join the treaty after the two countries conducted nuclear tests in May 1998. The tests sparked fears of a nuclear confrontation between the South Asian rivals, particularly over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
India has said it does not plan any more tests but will not succumb to pressure to sign a treaty that no nuclear power has ratified.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir, and both nations have laid claim to the territory in its entirety.
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