CTBT: India refuses to be pressurised

BERLIN, Sept 10 (PTI) — India will not buckle under pressure from any country to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) but is open to negotiations with major powers on the issue, official sources said here today.

"We are prepared to have negotiations with major powers on the CTBT and we will take a decision only if we reach an agreement," they said shortly before President K.R. Narayanan left for Portugal after a five-day visit to Germany.

During talks with German President Roman Herzog and Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Mr Narayanan said there would be no compromise on the nuclear policy, they said.

Germany did not exert pressure on New Delhi during the parleys here to sign the treaty but suggested that India should now agree to sign it since it had conducted nuclear tests, the sources said.

Responding to Germany’s suggestion, India said the existing signatories to the CTBT must also renounce further nuclear tests, they said.

As far as India was concerned, it had already fulfilled the general requirements of the CTBT like moratorium on further nuclear tests, the sources said.

Answering a question, the sources said; "Germany made a friendly suggestion to India to sign the CTBT. But there was no pressure from Bonn".

Indo-Pakistan relations including Kashmir also figured during the talks. The President explained India’s stand on the issue and its willingness to resume the stalled Foreign Secretary- level talks to resolve all outstanding issues.

To another question, the sources said there was a passing reference to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but there was no discussion on it.

Both Germany and India expressed concern over the growing tension in the South Asian region and they were of the view that the confidence building measures should be initiated to ease the tension.

Developments in Afghanistan and China also figured during the discussions, the sources said adding Germany expressed concern over the growth of fundamentalism.

Pak changes stand on CTBT

ISLAMABAD, Sept 10 (PTI) — In a departure from its earlier stand, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asserted that Pakistan’s decision to sign the CTBT was not linked to India’s stand on the issue.

"Decisions about Islamabad will be taken in Islamabad. Why would we link such decisions with anyone else," Sharif was quoted by the English daily ‘The News’ as saying.

He also asserted that Pakistan was an independent country and it will take all decisions relating to its security and integrity independently, the daily said.

Sharif’s comments come in the wake of his government’s decision to summon a joint session of Parliament, where his ruling PML has almost a two-third majority, from tomorrow to discuss the signing of the treaty.

The decision to delink the issue from the Indian standpoint is a marked departure from Pakistan’s earlier stand on the CTBT signing issue when it had insisted that it would not sign the treaty unless New Delhi did.

The Sharif government, which has been under mounting pressure from the USA to sign the treaty, has received support from the Opposition PPP leader Benazir Bhutto.

US President Bill Clinton on Tuesday had spoken to Sharif over phone on non-proliferation matters.

Pakistan’s economy is in shambles and if it does not get loan assistance from the IMF it would default on its debt repayment obligations.

But after four rounds of talks with Pakistani authorities, the USA has apparently promised to back Pakistan’s case in the IMF board in return for signing the treaty.

Vajpayee, Sharif to meet in New York

ISLAMABAD, Sept 10 (PTI) — Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif will try to reach an agreement on resumption of the stalled bilateral dialogue process during their meeting in New York later this month, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said here today.

The meeting between the two leaders had been more or less finalised and they would discuss follow-up to the talks held between the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries at Durban during the NAM summit earlier this month, spokesman, Tariq Altaf said.

He said the outcome of discussions between the two Foreign Secretaries would be reported to the Prime Ministers in New York and "they will try to reach an agreement on resumption of bilateral talks which will then be made public."

Appreciating Mr Vajpayee’s statement that India was ready to discuss Kashmir, Mr Altaf said Pakistan welcomed such a stand and "we will be happy to commence substantive negotiations on Kashmir and hope India will show sincerity to hold purposeful and result-oriented discussions."