Vienna, September 27: Pakistan, which refuses to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and was home to a notorious nuclear smuggling ring, was named head of the UN nuclear watchdog’s governing board here today.
At a special one-day meeting, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board of governors appointed “by acclamation” the head of Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission, Ansar Parvez, as its chairman for the next 12 months, taking over from Malaysia.
The board of governors is the IAEA’s most important policy-making body after the 151-nation general conference and meets five times a year.
Its rotating chair is appointed for a period of one year with the main task of presiding over debates and helping the board of governors reach consensus decisions.
Parvez said he saw no problem with the choice, even though Pakistan, like India and Israel, refuses to sign the NPT.
Pakistan has held the chair before and India has done so twice.
–Agencies