N-deal: India reminds US about Pakistan's proliferation record

New Delhi, March 22 : With the US indicating that it is open to Islamabad's plea for a civil nuclear deal, India Monday reminded the international community to take a closer look at Pakistan's suspect record in non-proliferation before taking a decision on the issue.

India will be keeping a close watch on the forthcoming US-Pakistan strategic dialogue in Washington March 24 where "working-level talks on a civil nuclear deal" could take place.

There is need for striking the "right balance" between Pakistan's needs for energy, and its history of proliferation, said well-placed sources close to the government.

Pakistan has cited the festering power crisis across the country to make a fresh pitch with the US for an India-like nuclear deal.

"We hope the 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," the sources said.

In an indication of a significant policy shift, US ambassador to Islamabad, Anne Patterson told a journal in an interview that the US and Pakistan were going to have "working level talks" on the subject during a strategic dialogue on March 24.

Agreeing that earlier US "non-proliferation concerns were quite severe", she said attitudes in Washington were changing.

The envoy's remarks have created apprehensions among the strategic establishment in India about the implications of such a move for the country.

Former US president George Bush, the prime mover behind the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal, had rejected Pakistan's plea for an India-like nuclear deal during his visit to New Delhi and Islamabad in 2006 on grounds of Islamabad's dubious proliferation record.

Since then, top US officials have repeatedly denied the possibility of a nuclear deal with Pakistan on similar grounds.

The US decided to strike a path-breaking nuclear deal with India in July 2005 and justified it to the international community on the basis of New Delhi's impeccable record in non-proliferation.