Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called for its recognition as a nuclear power on Saturday, stating that it had successfully tested two missiles capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads.
“A statement from the military said the Ghaznavi, with a range of 290 kilometres (180 miles), and the Shaheen 1, which can hit targets up to 650 kilometres away, both ‘successfully hit the target areas.’”, according to the news.
And with that success, the prime minister urged the international community to recognize Pakistan as a nuclear power and give it access to civilian nuclear energy. But should we?
Pakistan is not bounded by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) , and Nuclear Supplier Groups (NSG) does not allow trade with states like Pakistan who have not signed the treaty. However, the prime minister is demanding a NSG waiver for Pakistan stating that, “energy is a vital economic security need of Pakistan and nuclear energy is a clean way forward.”
I think I’ve heard this before… and that’s with Iran. It has claimed ever since that they are just on to nuclear development for their studies and for better purposes not to wage war. However, what Pakistan showed by firing those missiles is that they can be a threat now to any nation not only to its rival, India. Maybe if they sign the treaty and vowed that their motives are clean and will follow all rules, then it can be that this year or in the near future, Pakistan becomes another nuclear power. What do you think so?
