India backs pragmatic framework against nuke terrorism
April 24th, 2010 - 12:00 am ICT by IANS
New Delhi, April 23 (IANS) Underlining the dangers of nuclear proliferation, India Friday hoped that “pragmatic and purposeful” frameworks would be worked out by the international community to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists.
“The focus on combating nuclear terrorism is consistent with our concerns on terrorism and clandestine proliferation. Strengthening nuclear security is also consistent with India’s interest in the safe and secure expansion of civil nuclear energy,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the Lok Sabha.
He said this in a statement in parliament on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit last week to the US for the Nuclear Security Summit and to Brazil for the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) and Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) summits.
Krishna stressed that India had welcomed the recent initiative of US President Barack Obama to hold the Nuclear Security Summit that focused on securing loose atomic material across the world as it was in consonance with India’s interests.
Krishna laid the statement onthe table of the house as he could not read it due to the din created by opposition over the Indian Premier League row. Krishna added that the prime minister had highlighted India’s concerns at the summit over clandestine proliferation and the danger of nuclear material and technical know-how falling into the hands of non-state actors.
The prime minister asked the world to work towards “universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable” nuclear disarmament that was outlined in Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan of 1988.
“The danger of nuclear terrorism makes early elimination of nuclear weapons a matter of even greater urgency,” the minister said. “We hope that the Nuclear Security Summit process would help build pragmatic and purposeful frameworks for addressing nuclear danger,” he said.
In his intervention at the April 12-13 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced India’s decision to set up a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership and stressed on zero tolerance for individuals and groups which engage in illegal trafficking in nuclear materials.
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