The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally registered its deep concern over a landmark C$2.6 billion uranium supply agreement recently signed between Canada and India. Islamabad argues that this long-term arrangement, which secures nuclear fuel for India's civilian reactors through 2035, represents a "selective exception" to global non-proliferation norms.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi stated that such preferential treatment diminishes the credibility of the international framework designed to control the spread of nuclear materials.

Tensions are particularly high as this deal follows the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, the significant military engagement in May 2025 initiated by India in response to terror attacks in Pahalgam.

Pakistan maintains that the timing of this nuclear cooperation is provocative, especially given the established military asymmetry in the region.

Officials in Islamabad contend that by providing India with a guaranteed external supply of uranium for its civilian fleet, Canada is inadvertently allowing India to divert its limited domestic uranium reserves toward its military program.

The Pakistani government has highlighted what it describes as a "troubling irony" in the renewed partnership. It pointed out that the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was originally established in response to India's 1974 nuclear test, which utilised plutonium produced in a Canadian-supplied reactor meant for peaceful purposes.

By granting New Delhi further "preferential access" now, Islamabad argues that Canada is undermining the very export controls that India’s past actions necessitated.

Furthermore, Pakistan raised alarms regarding the lack of comprehensive safeguards, noting that India has not placed all its civilian nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the expansion of India’s fissile material stockpiles could accelerate an arms race and deepen strategic imbalances across South Asia.

Pakistan has reiterated its call for a "criteria-based" and non-discriminatory approach to civil nuclear cooperation that applies equally to all states that are not parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Agencies