By Syed Qamar.
Having been voyaged through the jolts of hopes and despairs between the negotiating parties ;the process– of the Vienna nuclear negotiations seems positively concluded between Iran and the six global powers, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany—heralding a glaring victory for ‘ peace and global diplomacy’, the leitmotiv of the nuclear agreement. The Agreement– a fruition of the 22 months consecutive efforts of the western diplomacy, the EU’s big three -UK, France and Germany-backed by the US and meaningfully supported by China and Russia—negates the advocacy of realism’.The deal,by casting a multidimensional impact, strengthens the role of global diplomacy.
This nuclear Iranian pact with the global powers sends the message to the world community that the resolution of any ‘political dispute’ can better be managed through ‘poised and sustained dialogue’. This development sets a good precedent for those striving for peace via conflict resolutions.And most significantly, the deal must be providing an anchor sheet to the future of the Treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Unfortunately,the NPT review conference-2015 has ended in failure.
The nuclear pact has to be endorsed by the UN’s Security Council. As for the EU’s diplomacy, it is an historic achievement because of the fact that the European diplomacy has had been ardently striving to make such a deal via ‘diplomatic gradualism’,lasting for a period of twelve years.This deal marks the beginning of new era of ‘global diplomacy’.Yet for those western political thinkers who seem to have been the ardent advocates of ‘realism or idealism’,the news of the deal may not be a good departure;but for those who believe in ‘pragmatism and pacifism’,the news of the deal must have been a positive development.
The Vienna nuclear deal seems a win-win situation for both the western diplomacy and Iran.Legally, while accepting Iran’s right to acquire peaceful nuclear access, the deal has built a stronger role of the UN’s watchdog-the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency).The agreement seems a great breakthrough since it upholds the dignity of international law or the legal international order by revitalizing the role of the United Nations Security Council. Morally,it has uplifted the image of the P5 or the ‘global diplomacy’.And politically, while it provides a better scope of relationship between the Iranians, the Europeans and Americans,at the global level, the deal patches the gulf between the ‘West and the Muslim world’.
With the lifting of the sanctions, the Iranian economy may be flourished.This rebuilding of the Iranian economy, would also result in revitalizing the ‘economy of the European Union’. Notwithstanding the fact that the global nuclear diplomacy has succeeded in mending the ties between Iran and the West,it has to ward off the negative implications regarding its discretionary practicing of the global nuclear policies. For example,the Vienna nuclear deal has stopped Iran from building heavy water reactors.Yet the West, particularly America has allowed India to do so.
On April 8,2006, I wrote the article in the Dawn Newspaper, Pakistan: Iran’s right to acquire N-power. I argued: ‘’It is a truism that not a unilateral or vertical but a horizontal or multilateral nuclear disarmament is the only key to a safe and secure world order. And the goal of a nuclear free world regime can be achieved not by the use of force but by creating mutual faith and harmony among nations.”
Yet this task of curtailing the ‘nuclear enrichment’– not beginning from ‘Antarctic and northwards, but from south’—will keep the world divided on ‘nuclear thinking’. The world positively needs a new thought—lateral thinking, in the jargon of the emerging challenges to be faced by today’s world. Ironically, the world has set up a system of ‘mutual deterrence’. But it has not grasped the implications of that system’s success.For the sake of our posterity and for the safety of mankind,the international community has to draw ‘a parallel line’ where international law has to seek its fidelity equally from all nations of the world.
And keeping this credo in mind,a ‘nuclear free regime’ must be the equal concern for all nations, belonging to North and South.It is in this context, that the four important international nuclear instruments or treaties–the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons(NPT);the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty CTBT);the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty(FMCT); and the Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty(ABMT) –need to be comprehensively and pragmatically ‘reviewed’.
Nonetheless,Obama’s televised address reflects on a positive future scenario of improving ties between Washington and Tehran.The US president seems firmed on the scope of the deal.
However,there is hope that the sane minds in the US Congress would not be tilted towards a ‘ polarization’ regarding this sensitive issue. Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats, by having a unanimous thought, would give a poised approval– of the Vienna agreement by giving ‘peace’ the every chance to survive–espousing president’s Obama’s ‘gallant and astute’ initiative of striking a ‘deal with Iran’.
