Arms Control & Disarmament

Pakistan considers arms control and disarmament as vital tools to promote peace and security at the global and regional levels. Accordingly, Pakistan has always advocated the need for making progress in these areas, taking into account the security interests of all States. Geneva is host to three vital constituents of the global disarmament machinery i.e. the Conference on Disarmament (CD) – the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, periodic meetings and Conferences of Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and those member states that are party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). The Mission participates actively in the proceedings of these important bodies; presenting and advocating robustly Pakistan’s perspective, positions and priorities.

Conference on Disarmament (CD)

Pakistan accords high importance to the Conference on Disarmament as an indispensable body mandated to negotiate international treaties that impinge on security and stability at global, regional and sub-regional levels.

Pakistan has contributed substantially to the work of the Conference on Disarmament e.g. in the drafting of its rules of procedures, expansion of membership and revision in its working methods. Pakistan presided over the CD in 1983, 1990, 1996, 2005 and 2016.

Pakistan has consistently supported the goal of a nuclear weapon free world through the conclusion of a universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable, comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention in the CD. In line with the final document of the First Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament (SSOD-I), the objective of this process should be undiminished security for all at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces. Pakistan supports commencement of negotiations on this long-standing agenda item in the CD.

Pakistan has a long history of advocacy and activism on the issue of Negative Security Assurances (NSAs). In 1979, Pakistan tabled a draft “International Convention to Assure Non-Nuclear-Weapon States against the Use or Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapons” at the CD, contained in Document CD/10. Pakistan also submitted three Working Papers on this subject from 1979-1981 (CD/25, CD/120 and CD 161) and another one recently in March 2023 (CD/2317). Since 1990, Pakistan has annually tabled a resolution on NSAs at the UN General Assembly, which is adopted without a single negative vote. Pakistan is ready to join negotiations in the CD to conclude an international treaty on NSAs. Pakistan’s proposals on NSAs can be accessed here. Pakistan also supports urgent commencement of negotiations in the CD on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) to prevent it from emerging as a new realm of conflict. The draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects, commonly known as PPWT, provides a useful basis for the commencement of negotiations in the CD.

Pakistan advocates a Fissile Material Treaty (FMT) that promotes the objectives of achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Accordingly, FMT should take into account the legitimate security interests of all States and address global and regional asymmetries in fissile material stocks by explicitly including them in the treaty’s scope. Pakistan considers a cut-off only treaty i.e. FMCT, without the inclusion of stocks, as merely a partial non-proliferation instrument and therefore does not support it. In 2015, Pakistan presented a Working Paper at the CD on Elements of a Fissile Material Treaty, outlining concrete proposals inter alia, for dealing with existing stocks, contained in document CD/2036.

Pakistan is open to negotiate legally binding instruments in the CD on other contemporary issues that are of a direct concern to international peace and security – Cyber Weapons, new types of destabilizing weapon systems, Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), chemical and biological terrorism, etc. In July 2023 and later in April 2025, Pakistan submitted working papers calling for the CD to address the security and stability implications of military applications ofArtificial Intelligence, and Autonomy in weapon systems (CD/2334 and CD/2450).

In the absence of consensus on the commencement of negotiations on any of the CD’s agenda items, Pakistan has continued to call for structured discussions in the CD for carrying out substantive work to better understand perspectives of all states and make progress on all its agenda items in a balanced manner.

Over the years, the global consensus underpinning disarmament and non-proliferation has eroded. The multilateral disarmament machinery is in a state of limbo. The reasons for differences in perspectives and modalities are primarily political. Pakistan has therefore consistently called for renewing the international consensus on these important subjects.

For more information on Pakistan’s engagement with the CD including statements and proposals by Pakistan, please click here.

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)

The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) represents an important pillar of arms control and international security architecture. Pakistan views the BWC, its Review Conferences and inter-sessional meetings as important platforms to promote balanced implementation of all articles of the Convention, including through multilateral negotiations aimed at concluding a legally binding Protocol, that also addresses verification and effective implementation of the Convention.

Pakistan Mission has been actively engaged with and contributed to the BWC regime, including as President of the BWC Review Conference in 2006. In the 9th BWC Review Conference held in December 2022, Pakistan played an important role (including through presentation of a Working Paper BWC/CONF.IX/WP.57) in the establishment of Working Group on the Strengthening of the Convention, that was mandated to identify, examine and develop specific and effective measures, including possible legally-binding measures, and to make recommendations to strengthen and institutionalise the Convention in all its aspects.

In the Working Group, Pakistan submitted a Working Paper in August 2023 titled, “Proposal for Cooperation and Assistance Mechanism under Article X” (BWC/WG/2/WP.13).

For more information on Pakistan’s engagement with the BWC including statements and list of proposals by Pakistan, please click here.

Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW)

Pakistan is a party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) as well as all its Protocols and views this regime as vital to promoting security at regional and sub-regional levels. The strength of the CCW framework lies in its balanced approach towards military necessity and humanitarian concerns. Pakistan advocates universal adherence to and effective implementation of the Convention. Pakistan Mission remains actively engaged with and continues to contribute to CCW regime. Pakistan presided over the CCW Review Conference in 2016.

Pakistan welcomes CCW’s focus on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and considers humanitarian, ethical and security implications of LAWS too grave to be ignored. Pakistan advocates for urgent and meaningful progress in the on-going deliberations on LAWS to conclude a legal normative framework consisting of prohibitions and regulations of such weapon systems.

Pakistan has put forward detailed proposals for an international legal instrument on LAWS including in March 2023 (CCW/GGE.1/2023/WP.3/Rev.1) and May 2024 (CCW/GGE.1/2024/WP.7).

For more information on Pakistan’s engagement with the CCW including statements and list of proposals by Pakistan, please click here.

European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)

Pakistan became the first country from Asia and the second overall to become an Associate Member of CERN in 2015. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), based in Geneva, is one of the largest and most respected centers for scientific research that also houses the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – fundamental particles. Pakistan has a long history of mutually beneficial collaboration with CERN since 1994, anchored in the shared ideals of promoting world-class research in fundamental physics and pushing the frontiers of science and technology, for the benefit of all. Pakistan has made significant contributions to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments at CERN, especially the ALICE and CMS experiments, in addition to other accelerator projects such as CLIC/CTF3 and LINAC4, as well as the LHC consolidation programme in 2013-2014. These contributions have included building various mechanical components as well as computing aspects.

Arms Control & Disarmament Statements