E-Paper
Did India sign nuclear deal with Pakistan under pressure from the US? Congress, BJP exchange jibes
As the BJP and Congress exchange jibes over the Indo-Pak 1988 nuclear deal, here's a look at what happened between the two countries and the role US played.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have exchanged jibes at one another in relation to the 1988 nuclear deal signed between India and Pakistan.
As per BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, India signed the 1988 nuclear deal with Pakistan due to pressure from the United States.
Sharing an alleged declassified letter from then US President Ronald Reagan to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Dubey alleged that the agenda for the nuclear talks between India and Pakistan were set by the United States.
“Why is Congress angry? When I saw this paper, I felt ashamed. US President Ronald Reagan sent this letter/telegram to the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Under American pressure, we spoke to Pakistani President General Zia. The agenda for the talks was set by the US President. What we understood after this letter was that Pakistan and we did the nuclear deal in 1988 under American pressure,” the Godda MP said on social media platform X.
Congress responds to BJP's claims
However, the Congress party has dismissed these claims and stated that the party is "grateful" to the BJP for the publicity it has given Congress in the past 10 years.
"If you go through the letter written by US President Regan to Rajiv Gandhi, you will realise that President Reagan is requesting our help in Afghanistan. That was the kind of role India played then. The language used by President Regan was "I offer to assist"," said Khera.
The Congress leader further stated that current US president Donald Trump "threatens" Modi, to which the Indian prime minister stays silent.
What led to the 1988 nuclear deal between India and Pakistan?
India and Pakistan signed a "non-nuclear aggression agreement" in 1988. This agreement came in the backdrop of the Cold War between the United States and then USSR.
The treaty, signed by former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and Rajiv Gandhi, calls on both nations to reduce or limit nuclear arms. The treaty also called on both countries not to attack or assist foreign nations in attacking each other's nuclear installations and facilities.
Both parliaments ratified that agreement in January 1991, bringing it into action.
What was US' role?
This deal between India and Pakistan also came after US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987.
Before the Indo-Pak agreement, the US led a Six Nation Five Continent Peace Initiative in 1984, which called on peace and called for an end to nuclear testing. The six nations in focus for the US were Argentina, Greece, Mexico, Sweden, Tanzania and India.
During the Cold War period, nuclear disarmament was the key focus amid tensions between the US and USSR to become the next superpower. Hence, any cable or role the US played during the nuclear pact, was focused on its overall geopolitical and foreign policy at the time.
