UN disarmament panel adopts Pakistan-led measures on arms control and nuclear security
Assalamu alaikum - ISLAMABAD: The United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security approved four resolutions sponsored by Pakistan on Saturday, covering regional disarmament, confidence-building steps and assurances on nuclear security, according to an official statement.
The moves come after Pakistan’s recent clash with India, when the two nuclear-armed neighbours fought a short but intense conflict in May that left about 70 people dead on both sides and sparked global worry about escalation in the region.
Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations said the committee unanimously passed two resolutions titled “Regional disarmament” and “Confidence-building measures in the regional and sub-regional contexts.” Two other resolutions - “Conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure non‑nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons” and “Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels” - were approved by an overwhelming majority.
The statement noted that Pakistan has long pushed initiatives at the UN on nuclear disarmament, regional arms control and confidence-building measures. It said adopting these resolutions underscores the international community’s focus on so-called negative security assurances and on regional strategies for disarmament and arms control - meaning promises by nuclear-armed states not to use or threaten nuclear weapons against non‑nuclear states.
Pakistan’s call for stronger confidence-building measures follows the recent hostilities with India. One of Pakistan’s senior military leaders warned that the fighting raised the risk of future escalation and that international mediation could be harder next time, pointing to a lack of crisis-management mechanisms between the two neighbours.
Procedurally, First Committee decisions are sent to the full UN General Assembly for formal adoption in upcoming sessions.
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