Zeenews Bureau
Islamabad: US diplomats based in Pakistan on Monday played down reports of a possible civilian nuclear deal with the country after India urged their government to consider the proliferation track record of Pakistan before deciding on the matter.
"The US has not entered (into) negotiations on a civil
nuclear agreement with Pakistan," a spokesperson of the US
embassy in the capital told PTI, a day after media reports
said Washington may discuss Islamabad's request for
cooperation in setting up nuclear power plants in the country.
"The United States is committed to helping Pakistan
address its real and growing energy needs, and we look forward
to cooperating with Pakistan in ways that are compatible with
Pakistan's economic, environmental and security needs and with
US international commitments and policies," it said.
The embassy clarification came ahead of a key
bilateral strategic talks in Washington on Wednesday for which
a high-level Pakistan delegation has reached the American
capital.
The US envoy to India Timothy J. Roemer, however, declined to comment on media reports suggesting that the US was thinking of offering a similar deal to Pakistan.
So far, the US has not conceded Pakistan's repeated demand for a civil nuclear nuclear deal. But, in an indication of a possible policy shift, US Ambassador to Islamabad Anne Patterson said in a recent interview to a journal that the two sides were going to have "working level talks" on the subject during the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue on March 24.
With the US indicating its readiness to discuss civil nuclear deal with Pakistan, India on Monday hoped it would keep in mind Pakistan's track record on proliferation before deciding on the issue.
"We hope international community would strike the right balance between meeting energy needs of any country while taking on board its track record with regard to proliferation of nuclear technology and weapons of mass destruction," official sources said.
Patterson had noted that earlier America's "non-proliferation concerns were quite severe" but "I think we are beginning to pass those and this is a scenario that we are going to explore."
-Agencies’ inputs
First Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 00:24