ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Pakistan has expressed concern over a long-term uranium supply agreement between Canada and India, as well as potential cooperation between the two countries on small modular reactors and advanced nuclear technologies.
Responding to media queries, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan believes civil nuclear cooperation should follow a non-discriminatory and criteria-based approach applicable equally to countries that are not signatories to the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
He stated that selective exceptions undermine the credibility of the global non-proliferation framework and could further destabilise regional and international peace and security.
The spokesperson noted that the arrangement represents another country-specific exception in civil nuclear cooperation. He also pointed out that India’s 1974 nuclear test, which used plutonium produced in a reactor originally supplied by Canada for peaceful purposes, led to the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
According to Andrabi, India has not placed all of its civilian nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and several facilities remain outside international monitoring.
He further warned that guaranteed external uranium supplies could allow India to divert its domestic uranium resources for military use, potentially expanding its fissile material stockpiles and nuclear arsenal, thereby affecting the strategic balance in South Asia.
Meanwhile, India and Canada earlier signed several agreements in New Delhi, including cooperation on critical minerals, renewable energy, technology, and a landmark uranium supply deal for nuclear power.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said relations between the two countries had gained “new energy, mutual trust and positivity.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described his visit as an important step toward improving ties, which had deteriorated in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi of involvement in attacks against Sikh activists in Canada — allegations that India denied.