Pakistan not bound by Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: FO

• Pakistan stresses the agreement does not contribute to international laws
• None of the nuclear-armed states partook in the negotiations of the treaty in 2017, notes FO
• Pakistan does not consider itself bound by any of the obligations enshrined in this Treaty, says FO

Pakistan on Friday clarified that it is not bound by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a Foreign Office statement said, stressing that the agreement did not contribute to international laws.

The statement, explaining Pakistan's stance, said that the treaty was adopted in July 2017 and it was negotiated outside the established United Nations disarmament negotiating forums.

The Foreign Office noted that "none of the nuclear-armed states, including Pakistan, partook in the negotiations of the treaty which failed to take on board the legitimate interests of all the stakeholders.

Moreover, several non-nuclear armed states have also refrained from becoming Parties to the treaty, the statement said.

"The United Nations General Assembly, at its first special session devoted to nuclear disarmament in 1978, had agreed by consensus that in the adoption of disarmament measures, the right of each State to security should be kept in mind, and at each stage of the disarmament process the objective would be undiminished security for all States at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces," the statement said.

The Foreign Office said that Pakistan believes the UN's objective could only be achieved as a cooperative and universally agreed undertaking, through a consensus-based process involving all the relevant stakeholders, which results in equal and undiminished security for all States.

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"It is indispensable for any initiative on nuclear disarmament to take into account the vital security considerations of each and every state." the statement said.

"Accordingly, Pakistan does not consider itself bound by any of the obligations enshrined in this Treaty. Pakistan stresses that this Treaty neither forms a part of, nor contributes to the development of customary international law in any manner," it added.

Related: Pakistan committed to nuclear weapons-free world: FO

The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted by the UN in 2017 and it reached 50 ratifications in October. The countries that have signed and ratified include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, and Thailand.

The treaty completes the suite of international bans on all major weapons considered unacceptable because of their indiscriminate and inhumane effects, including anti-personnel landmines, cluster munitions, biological and chemical weapons.

— Additional input from Reuters