KARACHI, March 26: The European Union’s nuclear cooperation with India would undermine security initiatives and prove counter-productive to efforts aimed at disarmament and non-proliferation in the region.

This was spelt out by Dr Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema while presenting a paper on Pakistan’s perspective on the growing Indo-EU strategic partnership in a seminar on “EU politics: current issues” organized by the Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi, in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation here on Wednesday.

The EU’s relations with China also came under scrutiny and scholars were of the view that the EU’s initiatives, especially with China, would not start a new Cold War because both China and the EU are interested in ending US hegemony. China is also comfortable in dealing with the EU because it does not press Beijing the way the Americans push it on the human rights issue, Taiwan and Tibet, it was observed.

According to Dr Cheema, who is President of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, the most outstanding concern for Pakistan was the Indo-EU cooperation in nuclear technology, material, and equipment transfer because there are a number of issues between India and Pakistan that are unresolved, including the core issue of Kashmir. He termed the missing link of regional integration as a big obstacle in the way of the Indo-EU strategic partnership.

He told a questioner that many Europeans, who are otherwise very enthusiastic about discussing human rights violations, don’t censure India when it comes to such violations in its portion of Kashmir.

He was of the view that Indo-EU cooperation in the nuclear field would have implications for Pakistan-EU relations, as Pakistan would consider the EU’s nuclear cooperation with India a step towards de facto recognition of India as a nuclear power without assigning the same status to Pakistan.

“Therefore,” he said, “for Pakistan, Indo-EU efforts for disarmament and non-proliferation would be selective and discriminatory and would be counter-productive, which would undermine security efforts in the region.”

Multi-polar world

The South Asian countries, he said, would not welcome the European Union’s Indo-centric initiatives as conflicts in the region remain unresolved, though it looked as the European initiatives with China and India are a step towards multi-polarity in the world order.

He also traced the evolution of the Indo-EU strategic partnership and economic relations and referred to the understanding between India and the EU on the question of Iran’s nuclear programme. “India endorsed the resolution of the IAEA on Iran’s nuclear enrichment,” he said, adding that the Indo-EU common approach towards Iran’s nuclear programme delays the process of integration in South Asia with regard to the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project.

Dr Cheema maintained that on the global side, Indo-EU nuclear cooperation would undermine disarmament and non-proliferation efforts by further encouraging Iran to develop nuclear technology.

He advised Pakistan to develop a strategic understanding with the EU by building strong trading and investment relations within the European bloc, reinforcing political and democratic values, converging views on global terrorism, reiterating ties with the US and strengthening ties with Russia, Central Asia and Iran.

He emphasized that Pakistan does not have any particular apprehensions about the growing Indo-US strategic partnership or nexus as such.

He was of the view that as the EU is Pakistan’s largest trading and investment partner, this could serve as a shield against any potential Indo-EU military and strategic partnership directed against Pakistan. Also, the more India moves towards the EU, the more it drifts away from Russia, a locomotive for important energy projects in Europe, Central and South Asia.

“India also drifts away from oil and gas rich Iran. These factors are important as the future global trade,” he claimed, “would be in energy and not in goods and services. Being the energy corridor for Iran, Qatar and Central Asia, Pakistan would be a natural beneficiary of energy trade in the future.”

Earlier, Director of the Area Study Centre for Europe, Prof Dr Naveed Ahmad Tahir, in her welcome address dealt with the evolution of the EU and the challenges it faces after the inclusion of new members.