Pakistan has demanded it be allowed to buy Australian uranium if the government proceeds with sales of the nuclear raw material to its neighbor, India.
The Australian government is preparing to negotiate a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement with their Indian counterparts, after the Gillard government was given the green light to sell uranium to the rising economic powerhouse.
Pakistani High Commissioner to Australia Abdul Malik Abdullah said the same concession should be made for Pakistan, which like India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He said, "If Australia is going to lift the ban on a country which has not signed NPT it is much hoped that will also apply to Pakistan the same way."
Abdullah said Pakistan has not made a request to buy Australian uranium, but this might change in the future. He said, "In that case we will hope that we will also be treated at par with other non-NPT signatories." |