China again equates India's NSG entry with Pakistan's

Clearly equating Pakistan's nuclear ambitions with India's, China's state media on Tuesday defended Pakistan's nuclear record, saying it was Abdul Quadir Khan – the 'father' of Pakistan's nuclear programme - who was responsible for atomic proliferation which was not backed by the government.

The media also argued that any exemption to India for entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group should also be granted to Pakistan.

''While India strives for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) inclusion, it prevents Pakistan from joining by insisting on the latter's bad record of nuclear proliferation. Actually, the proliferation carried out by Pakistan was done by Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan's chief nuclear scientist, and was not an official policy of the Pakistani government,'' an article in the state-run Global Times said.

''Khan was punished by the government afterwards with several years of house arrest. If the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the NSG can give India an exemption, it should apply to Pakistan as well,'' it said.

This is probably the first time Chinese official media has directly made a case for Pakistan's inclusion in the NSG.

China officially maintains that there should be consensus about admitting all members.

''China and other countries are opposed to NSG including India while excluding Pakistan, because it means solving India's problem but creating another bigger problem. If India joins hands with Pakistan to seek NSG membership, it seems more pragmatic than joining alone,'' said the article titled 'China no barrier to India joining NSG'.

India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in 1998, which were condemned by the international community, and the US, the European Union and Japan all imposed harsh sanctions on the two countries.

After the 11 September attacks, the sanctions were gradually lifted. The US even signed a Civil Nuclear Agreement with India and backs India's bid to join NSG. But the issue of the legitimacy of India's ''nuclear status'' has not been solved, the newspaper said.

''If India and Pakistan are allowed to join the NPT and adopt the CTBT [Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty], it will tarnish the authority of both. How can nuclear weapons development in other countries such as North Korea, Iran and Israel be dealt with?'' the article said.

The article put the blame of proliferation from Pakistan squarely on nuclear scientist Khan.

Khan was disgraced in 2004 when he was forced to accept responsibility for nuclear technology proliferation and was put under house arrest. In 2009, the Islamabad High Court declared Khan to be a free citizen of Pakistan, allowing him free movement inside the country.

The article came as the NSG began its meeting in Seoul, where the Chinese Foreign Ministry said India's admission is not on the agenda.

The NSG remains divided over non-NPT countries like India becoming its members, China's foreign ministry had said on Monday less than 24 hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had exuded hope that ''we would be able to convince China to support our entry to the NSG.'' (See: India's NSG entry 'not on agenda' at Seoul meet: China)

''The NSG plenary meeting started on Monday and will end on Friday in Seoul. In a bid to become a member of NSG, the Indian government has launched a diplomatic offensive and Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have embarked on foreign visits to win support from NSG member states,'' the article said.

''The NSG was set up by a group of countries that have civil nuclear technology, equipment and material export capabilities. It aims to achieve nuclear non-proliferation by preventing civil nuclear technology and material from being used to develop nuclear weapons,'' it noted.

It is generally reckoned that countries that conducted nuclear tests before the UN General Assembly adopted the CTBT in 1996 are legitimate nuclear countries, while those that did so after the adoption of the CTBT are considered illegitimate, it argued.

''If the US is sincere in supporting India's NSG membership, it should not just cast its eyes on India's nuclear market. It should solve India's 'nuclear status' first so as to eradicate the contradictions between India and the existing international nuclear non-proliferation mechanism,'' it said.