Joint Statement by the Indian Doctors for Peace and Development and the Pakistan Doctors for Peace and Development on the Nuclear Tests by the Governments of India and Pakistan
The Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) and the Pakistan Doctors
for Peace and Development (PDPD) -- affiliates of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize
winning International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War -- share
a deep sense of disappointment and profound regret that India and Pakistan
have tested nuclear devices and thereby fired the starting gun in a suicidal
nuclear arms race.
IDPD and PDPD have always held the view that nuclear weapons provide nosecurity to any nation. The nuclear arms race between the two countries will
further squander precious resources from the social sectors and will have
serious consequences for both the countries. Moreover, provocative voices
and threatening postures have brought South Asia perilously close to
confrontation and destabilization.
The physicians of IDPD and PDPD appeal to the Governments of India andPakistan to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions by initiating
immediate dialogue for an agreement not to develop and deploy nuclear
weapons, refrain from further testing of nuclear-capable missile delivery
systems, and sign a treaty on No-First-Use and non-aggression.
IDPD and PDPD reiterate their commitment to regional and global nucleardisarmament and emphasize a firm opposition to both vertical and horizontal
nuclear proliferation. The present nuclear weapons tests have vindicated our
commonly held position that horizontal proliferation can never be checked
unless vertical proliferation is tackled and steps are taken to rid the
world of nuclear weapons within a fixed time frame. The NPT and CTBT in
their present forms are deeply flawed on not only moral but also practical
grounds. Both treaties have been exploited as tools by the most egregious
offenders of the global nuclear arms race to perpetuate and legitimize the
possession, use, and threat of use of these weapons of mass destruction.
Both treaties, therefore, lack moral strength and have turned out to be
ineffective.
IDPD and PDPD urge the peace and disarmament movements around the world toconcentrate their energies with single-minded devotion to the Abolition of
Nuclear Weapons from the globe within a fixed time frame. The present CTBT
and NPT should be amended with a clear commitment by all current nuclear
weapon states for nuclear disarmament. The physicians of IDPD and PDPD
rededicate themselves to the task of building bridges of understanding
between India and Pakistan in order to ensure regional peace and stability
in South Asia as an essential prerequisite for global peace and stability.
Dr. S S. Shrivastwa
IDPD International Councilor, India
IPPNW * Co-Vice-President for South Asia
Prof. S. Tipu SultanPDPD International Councilor, Pakistan
IPPNW * Co-Vice-President for South Asia
(* International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War)
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