The Foreign Office (FO) during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Friday said that Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's recent 'no first use' statement on India's nuclear doctrine "amounts to nothing", according to a statement shared by the Press Information Department.

FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said, "Pakistan believes the ambiguous 'no first use' declaration is not verifiable and amounts to nothing. It can't be a substitute for verifiable arms control and restraint measures proposed by Pakistan's standing offer of Strategic Restraint Regime."

The spokesman said that such a statement by the defence minister of a country that repeatedly and constantly heightens tension with an aggressive posture should be a matter of concern not just for countries of the region but also a threat to global peace and security.

The statement comes as an extraordinary plenary session of the NSG specially convened to discuss India's membership of the bloc concluded without the members reaching any consensus. India has been pushing for NSG membership before the end of 2016.

The NSG is a 48-nation club dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that could foster nuclear weapons development.

The group's membership has signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty but India has refused to do so.

At least 12 NSG members at the meeting called for a criteria-based approach towards assessing India's membership. These included China, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, New Zealand, Belgium, Brazil and Russia, according to a source aware of the proceedings at the Vienna plenary.

India has been blaming Beijing for being the chief blocker.

Pakistan, which is also a candidate for the NSG membership, feels encouraged by the increasing support for well-defined and neutral membership criteria for non-NPT candidates.

The FO said Pakistan has expressed its openness to measures for strengthening non-proliferation objectives to the NSG. This includes proposal for binding bilateral agreement with India on non-testing, Zakaria said.

The FO claimed there is "growing recognition of the fact" that a 2008 exemption to Nuclear Suppliers Group rules granted to India "neither benefited non-proliferation regime nor objective of strategic stability in South Asia."

The exemption means that India already enjoys most of the benefits of membership of the 48-nation bloc, even though it has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the main global arms control pact.

The FO spokesman said an increasing number of countries are following a non-discriminatory approach and avoiding any formula to favour a specific country.

"The signing of nuclear deals by some countries is a matter of concern as it is only reinforcing arrogance and belligerence with which India conducts itself in the region and beyond," Zakaria said, in an apparent reference to India's signing of a civilian nuclear accord with Japan recently.

"Pakistan has established itself as a serious candidate for membership of the NSG. This is the result of active diplomacy by Pakistan," he said.

The spokesman expressed the confidence that members of the NSG would bear in mind the need to prevent further erosion of non-proliferation regime and preserve the credibility of the NSG as a rule-based organisation.

'Will respond forcefully to ceasefire violations'

Zakaria said Pakistan does not intend to heighten tension with India but will respond forcefully if ceasefire violations are committed.

The statement comes just days after seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border firing along the LoC.

Pakistan has lodged several protests with India over repeated violation of the ceasefire agreement and targeting of civilians and soldiers along the border in the past few weeks.

The FO spokesman, in response to a question at the briefing, that Pakistan is "actively and forcefully" taking up the issue of human rights violations by Indian forces in held Kashmir at every forum and occasion.

He reiterated that India is heightening tension along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary to divert attention from the situation in India-held Kashmir.

Pak-Turk schools

Responding to questions about the closure of Pak-Turk schools, Nafees Zakaria said Turkey has banned the parental organisation of the educational network, due to which Pakistan took action in the light of the country’s laws.

Pakistan on Nov 14 ordered the expulsion of Turkish staffers of the Pak-Turk schools by Nov 20, days before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was slated to make a two-day official visit to Islamabad.

Erdogan addressed a joint press conference and a joint session of parliament in Islamabad on Thursday, calling for Pakistan's help to tackle what he termed the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (Feto).

Erdogan alleges Feto is a 'terrorist' group led by self-exiled US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, and that Gulen is behind the failed July 15 coup attempt to remove Erdogan from power.

Turkey has asked Pakistan to take action against the Pak-Turk school network which it says has links to Gulen.

PM Nawaz invites Afghan CEO for visit

The FO spokesman said Pakistan has "left no stone unturned" to help establish peace in Afghanistan in particular, and the region in general.

However, the presence of non-state actors in Afghanistan has been a cause of concern, he said.

"Pakistan is well aware about the presence and fast-spreading activities of Daesh in Afghanistan," he said, adding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had invited Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to visit Paksitan. Consultations in this regard are underway to finalise the date of the visit, he said.