ISLAMABAD: Despite intensified lobbying by Washington and Delhi to get the Nuclear Suppliers Group`s membership for India, Pakistani officials are confident that some of the members of the organisation regulating nuclear trade would emphasise on adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) criteria for admission,thereby blocking India`s entry.

Pakistani officials said this as they went public with their diplomatic outreach to the countries part of the NSG, essentially urging them to follow a criteria-base d approach for the expansion of the 48-member bloc,established in 1975 for controlling nuclear export, instead of granting country-specific exemption.

Both India and Pakistan are candidates for membership of the NSG, but neither has signed the NPT an essential condition for admission. Their requests would be taken up at the upcoming `extraordinary plenary meeting` of the group in Vienna on Thursday, but a final decision would not be taken before its meeting set to be held in Seoul on June 24-25.

NSG operates through consensus and even a single country can block the applications for not meeting any of the basic membership rules. India, notwithstanding some of the strong endorsements for its membership request, would therefore have to get a nod from all the 48 countries before being admitted to the elite club.

Moreover, a group within the NSG, according to of ficials, is pressing for review of the membership rules ahead of any expansion instead of operating through exemptions. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz launched the outreach effort by calling foreign ministers of Russia (Sergey Lavrov), New Zealand (Murray McCully) and Republic of Korea (Yun Byung-se).

`His interlocutors expressed support for a non-discriminatory approach on the NSG expansion to non-NPT states,` the FO said in a statement, briefing about Mr Aziz`s telephonic calls to the foreign ministers.

Mr Aziz is expected to call foreign ministers of some other countries as well.

Meanwhile, a briefing for the envoys of the NSG-member countries was held at the Foreign Office on Pakistan`s candidature, while Pakistani missions in capitals of NSG-member countries reached out to their host governments.

According to another FO statement, Additional Secretary Tasnim Aslam called on the NSG countries to adopt an `objective and non-discriminatory criteria for the membership of non-NPT states`.

She cautioned that exemption for India could affect strategic stability in the region.

Ms Aslam highlighted Pakistan`s credentials for the NSG membership, including technical experience, capability and well-established commitment to non-proliferation and nuclear safety and security.

The Pakistani outreach picked up pace after the US reiterated its support for Indian candidature and Secretary of State John Kerry wrote letters to the NSGmember states, asking them `not to blockconsensus on Indian admission` to the grouping at the Seoul meeting.

Mr Kerry has also been calling his counterparts to ensure support for India.

Additionally, India has been able to win over some of the opponents of Indian candidature like Switzerland. Mexico is also expected to follow suit.

India is, however, unlikely to make it to the NSG with Beijing insisting that the NPT membership was a `necessary qualification` for consideration of new request for admission to the NSG.

`The NSG is an important part of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime which is based on the cornerstone of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This consensus which has long been upheld by the international community was also reaffirmed at last year`s NPT review session. Because of this, all the multilateral non-proliferation export control mechanisms, the NSG included, have been taking `NPT membership`as anecessary qualincationfortheir acceptance of new members,` Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang had earlier said while explaining his government`s position on the matter.

India, meanwhile, is set to get a consolation in the form of membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) one of the four multilateral export control regimes.

The deadline for submission of objections to the Indian candidature for the MTCR expired last Monday without any country objecting to India`s entry.

Italy had previously opposed India`s admission, but did not do so this time as its bilateral row with Delhi over return of a marine involved in the killing of two Indian fishermen has since been resolved.

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