ISLAMABAD: The admission of countries that are not signatories to the NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the 48-member cartel of countries that controls global nuclear trade, is no longer on fast track but the process is continuing.

`The process, the way it is evolving, has slowed down if not stalled. The enthusiasm shown by some countries in Seoulhas dissipated afterhard realities, sort of, dawned on them that it would be difficult to short circuit the process,` Mr Khalil Hashmir, director general disarmament at the Foreign Office, said at a conference organised by the Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS) on the recent NSG plenary meeting in Switzerland.

The CISS conference on `A Review of 27th NSG Plenary: Outcome and Implications` aimed to analyse the last NSG meeting in Bern on June 22-23, during which the matter of membership of non-NPT states was discussed. India and Pakistan, neither of which are NPT states, are aspiring to join the group.

The NSG has not yet been able to reacha consensus on the membership issue.

Last year, a facilitator appointment by then chairman Ambassador Rafael Mariano Grossi after consultations with member states, devised a formula but that too didnotachieve consensus.

Unlike the 2016 Seoul plenary meeting, there was less enthusiasm regarding the issue in Bern. Last year was President Barack Obama`s final year in the White House, and he was committed to getting India into the elite club of nuclear countries. Although United States support for Indian candidature continues, the new administration has not yet unalised its strategy in this regard.

Discussing the Bern meeting, Mr Hashmi said the positions of the participating governments had not changed much. About 30 countries tool( part in a debate on the admission of non-NPT states, but according to him `there wasn`t something new being said or argued`.

Mr Hashmi described the meeting as a `process related` session.

The two major outcomes of the Bern meeting were that the NSG acknowledged that it was seized with the matter of membership of non-NPT states and there was agreement on continuing deliberations on this issue. An informalsession is likely to be convened in Vienna this November.

Mr Hashmi also praised the new chairman for conducting the meeting professionally, saying he was `widely being seen as an honest broker` The former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) retired Gen Ehsanul Haq said at the conference that Pakistan was ready to accept any requirements for admission to the group, as long as it is non-discriminatory and does not infringe on Pakistan`s right to develop nuclear capability.

`We can be flexible as long as it does not infringe on our red flags. It cannot be used as coercion or containment or curtailment of our sovereign rights,` Mr Haq, who has remained closely associated with the nuclear programme, said.

Mr Haq also warned against the continued stigmatisation of Pakistan over the AQ Khan af fair.

`Pakistan has a very good record on export controls and safety and security.

We cannot be in perpetual punishment and banishment for the AQ Khan affair.

We are past that by more than a decade and half, and we undertook some very stringent measures,` he said.

Strategic Plans Division DirectorZahir Kazmi said: `Pakistan is committed to the objective of non-proliferation and shares the global concern regarding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. Pakistan, when admitted in NSG, would like to constructively contribute to the global non-proliferation regime.

Recalling the importance of NSG membership to Pakistan, Mr Kazmi said it was essential for its socioeconomic development and technological advancement.

The NSG, he said, would gain from accepting Pakistan into its fold.

CISS Executive Director Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi said Pakistan merits consideration for NSG membership in its overall commitments and undertakings. He said Pakistan`s interest in the group goes back nearly two decades.

Pakistan, he said, complies with a number of the NSG`s conditions: commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear safety, nuclear security, strong regulatory framework and a robust command and control structure. He said that while Pakistan is not a signatory of the NPT, it is committed to and implements facility-specific safeguards under the INF-CIRC 66.