facilities in the two countries under similar International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Pakistan has also proposed a declaration by all the countries of south Asia renouncing the manufacture or acquisition of nuclear weapons. On the multilateral disarmament agenda, the banning of chemical weapons offers promise. Negotiations for the conclusion of a convention banning the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons have been under way in the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament for five years now. The conference continues to devote, by far, the greatest amount of its time to this subject. It is a pity, however, that the outcome each year has not measured up to JSM/jcl A/C.l/40/PV.9 64-65 (Mr. Shah Nawaz, Pakistan) the amount of labour that has gone into it. Although work in the chemical weapons Ad Hoc Committee is moving forward, the pace remains glacial. The malaise that afflicts the process is familiar and easily identifiable. The super-Powers mistrust each other. There is also the desire on the part of some to get the benefits of a convention without making the sacrifices needed for it. Whil~ underlining the relative ease with which chemical weapons can be produced, and the danger of their proliferation, the developed nations continue to raise the greatest number of hurdles in the way of progress towards a comprehensive ban on chemical weapons. It would indeed be tragic if the negotiations to ban this foul weapon were to lose momentum. The Pakistan delegation has been participating constructively in th~ work of the chemical weapons Ad Hoc Committee in the Conference on Disarmament and has supported all useful proposals. We continue to hold the view that a chemical weapons convention must effectively and comprehensively ban this weapon and provide for an international mechanism to 
**Analysis**
This text appears to be focused on international diplomacy and disarmament, specifically discussing the efforts to ban chemical weapons and the challenges faced in achieving this goal. The language used is formal and technical, suggesting a context of international negotiations and agreements. The text also mentions the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Conference on Disarmament, which further supports the idea that this text is related to international relations and diplomacy.

**Category**
International relations, Science and technology