Washington: The US has linked its
consideration of a request by Pakistan for a civilian nuclear
deal to that country first taking necessary steps to address
non-proliferation concerns and indicated any pact will
realistically be 10 to 15 years away.
Pakistan, which has been pressing the US to have a
nuke pact on the lines of its nuclear deal with India, has
been asked by the Obama administration to especially address
the concerns of the international community on rogue atomic
scientist A Q Khan's clandestine network, as a basis for
consideration of its request, according to a US official.
Pakistan has so far failed to secure a clear
commitment from the US for a civilian nuclear deal.
It is believed that the US has not said a "No" to the
Pakistani request in this regard; but instead asked visiting
delegation led by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, which
also included Pakistani Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani,
to initiate steps that would restore the confidence of the
international community in its nuclear programme.
"Given Pakistan's history of selling nuclear technology
to Iran, Libya and North Korea, such an agreement would
realistically be 10 or 15 years away. Still, the
administration was careful not to dismiss the idea out of
hand," a senior administration official was quoted as saying
by The New York Times.
The high-level Pakistani delegation is understood to
have given assurances to initiate steps in this regard, the
sources said, adding that the administration would closely
monitor the developments in the country in this regard.
Topping the list is the complete disbanding of the
rogue nuclear scientists AQ Khan network, so that the US is
convinced that such a network could not grow up in the future.
It also requires international monitoring/inspection of its
nuclear facilities.
In his opening remarks of the upgraded Strategic
Dialogue, Qureshi had sought "non-discriminatory use of
available energy resources" for Pakistan, in an apparent
reference to the civilian nuclear deal.
At a press conference, in response to a question,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said this was one of
the "complicated issues" with Pakistan.
"We're committed to helping Pakistan meet its real
energy needs," she said.
Qureshi was quoted in media as saying that he was very
satisfied with the talks he had with the US on civilian
nuclear deal. However, he refrained from giving any further
details about the talks on civilian nuclear deal.
PTI
First Published: Friday, March 26, 2010, 19:14