Pakistan president says supports no-first-use nuclear policy

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said he was in favour of a no-first-use policy on nuclear weapons, a position already held by neighbouring India.

“Most definitely,” Zardari said Saturday evening via videolink from his home in Pakistan, when asked whether his country would pledge not to use a nuclear weapon first. “I am against nuclear warfare altogether.”

Zardari, who was speaking to a conference organised by an Indian daily newspaper, also said India and Pakistan should work on a region-specific treaty on nuclear use.

“Let’s sign a South Asia non-nuclear treaty and I can say this with full confidence — that I’m sure I can get my parliament to agree upon that. Can you say the same?”

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The two neighbours have taken some steps to reduce the risks from their arsenals — including setting up a telephone hotline aimed at preventing an accidental conflict.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

In October 2005, the two agreed to notify one another in advance on ballistic missile tests.

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