Pakistan on Thursday expressed concern over a uranium supply agreement between India and Canada, noting the deal poses serious implications for regional strategic stability and the global non-proliferation regime.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited India earlier this week, meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and agreeing to strengthen economic and strategic cooperation between their two states, including civil nuclear collaboration. Modi described the arrangement as a landmark deal to ensure long-term uranium supply for India’s civil nuclear energy program, while Carney said the cooperation would support India’s pursuit of clean and reliable base-load power.
In a statement voicing Pakistan’s concern over the uranium supply agreement, the Foreign Office noted it represented another country-specific exception in civil nuclear cooperation, recalling India’s 1974 nuclear test had been conducted using plutonium produced in a reactor originally supplied by Canada for peaceful purposes, prompting the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
The statement dubbed as ironic the granting to India of preferential access through selective arrangements when its actions had prompted the establishment of global nuclear export controls.
It also noted that India has not placed all of its civilian nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, nor has it committed to doing so as part of the latest agreement, leaving several facilities outside international inspection. The statement questioned whether the deal included clear and enforceable non-proliferation assurances, saying the details remained unclear.
Pakistan warned that assured external uranium supplies could allow India to divert its domestic uranium reserves for military purposes, potentially increasing its production of fissile material and accelerating the expansion of its nuclear arsenal. Such developments, it said, risk deepening existing strategic asymmetries in South Asia and could undermine Canada’s commitment to the international non-proliferation regime.
Reiterating a longstanding position, Pakistan emphasized that civil nuclear cooperation should follow a non-discriminatory and criteria-based approach, particularly for countries that are not signatories to the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Selective exceptions, it stressed, weaken the credibility of the global non-proliferation framework and risk further destabilizing regional and international peace and security.