Since 2010, the UN General Assembly has observed August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Testing (IDANT), as mentioned in Resolution 64/35 of that year. The commemoration aims to raise public awareness of the dangers of nuclear explosions and the need to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. However, there have been conflicting outcomes from the day’s observance. While civil society around the world is becoming more aware of the negative impacts of nuclear testing, some regimes openly admit to being biased in favor of it. South Asia being home to two nuclear weapon states also presents unique dynamics. India under recent government seems to be more inclined to resume testing, but Pakistan has been fortifying anti-testing standards by proposing bilateral non-testing agreements with India. After India’s nuclear testing in 1998, Pakistan has no other option but to test its nuclear weapons to safeguard its security. Ever since India and Pakistan have been lining up and modifying their strategies in response to evolving global nuclear norms.
Challenges in Global Nuclear Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Efforts
To commemorate the closing of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site on August 29, 1991, the Republic of Kazakhstan, along with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors, initiated the resolution at UNGA to commemorate day against nuclear testing. The efforts to ban nuclear testing is evident from treaty to Ban Nuclear Testing. According to Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, any nuclear explosion, whether a nuclear weapon test or another, is strictly prohibited and it bans all nuclear explosion tests on Earth. It needs eight key countries to ratify before entry into force.Now 187 states signed the treaty and 178 ratified it since it was made accessible in September 1996. Of the 44 States required for entry into force of the CTBT, all have signed with the exceptions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), India, and Pakistan. Five of the 44 States have signed but not ratified the CTBT; they are China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the United States. The United States and China are the only remaining NPT Nuclear Weapon States that have not ratified the CTBT.
In recent years, arms control has seen numerous setbacks. Russia withdrew from the new START in February 2023. It is the last nuclear arms limitation deal that restricts atomic weapons held by the United States and Russia. The US also suspended the sharing and publication of treaty data. In November 2023, Russia also renounced its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).There have been no attempts to check North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has not made any progress in many years. . Pakistan is among the numerous nations that have viewed the Non-Proliferation Treaty with mistrust since it was signed. The reasons are clear: the treaty is incredibly biased, exploitable, and poorly constructed and the security threats emanating from India, also prohibit Pakistan to enter into any multilateral arms control and disarmament initiative if India is not part .
India’s nuclear ambition, threat to strategic stability in South Asia
India has not tested nuclear weapons for 25 years, but there are growing apprehensions that it might resume nuclear testing. So, India poses a danger to the CTBT’s nuclear testing norms. Additionally, Pakistan supports the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and took an active part in the deliberations held at the Conference on Disarmament that resulted in the finalization of the CTBT. When the Treaty was ratified by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, Pakistan cast a vote in favor of it. It has been recognized as an accredited Observer State by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Preparatory Commission (CTBTO). Pakistan has been supporting the Treaty’s goals and purposes even though it is not a signatory state. The country maintains a unilateral ban on nuclear testing. Secondly, it declared that it was not the first nation in South Asia to test nuclear weapons and that it will not be the first to restart such tests, but India claimed that the CTBT would prevent the development of nuclear weapons and regulate all explosive tests. This was their justification for not signing and also shows their intentions to restart the nuclear explosion after 1998.
Pakistan’s stance on regional and international arms control and disarmament treaties
Pakistan’s wariness of non-proliferation, disarmament, and weapons control treaties is mostly due to India’s antagonistic behavior. Pakistan’s readiness to take part in these agreements has been greatly impacted by Indian opposition. Pakistan has continuously stated that it is willing to sign international non-proliferation accords. For example, between 1984 and 1987, Pakistan made three distinct offers to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with bilateral or joint agreements that included full-scope safeguards and inspections. Unfortunately, India turned down this plan.
Pakistan understands that dialogue and actions aimed at fostering confidence are the only ways to attain lasting peace (CBMs). Pakistan had suggested in 1974 to declare South Asia a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ), and in 1978 a joint Indo-Pak declaration was put forth renouncing the production and procurement of nuclear weapons. Similarly, in an effort to foster trust and openness, Pakistan had suggested in 1979 that nuclear installations be inspected by one another. To avoid overt nuclearisation and lower the risk of nuclear war, Pakistan had suggested a bilateral treaty in 1988 that would forbid nuclear testing. Sadly, India has always exhibited a negative attitude towards all such recommendations and intervened in numerous discussions on nuclear CBMs at the technical, political, and strategic levels. In August 2016, Pakistan made India an offer to extend their bilateral nuclear testing agreement. However, India’s silence indicates that it still hopes to carry out nuclear tests while Pakistan is determined to uphold the non-testing principles, as the examples above indicate.
The South Asian region presents an intriguing image: Pakistan has been negotiating with India to reduce the threat of nuclear war, while India has disregarded Pakistan in order to fulfil its hegemonic objectives. In present, some states are resuming nuclear testing like North Korea, this should be discouraged and condemned .Once the non-testing norm is applied universally and without exception, the argument for halting nuclear testing as it is symbolized by the observance of a specific date will have significance.
