Pakistan seeks from US Nuke-parity with India
PakistanTimes.net Foreign Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has asked the Bush administration to give a “logical reason” for not offering an Indian-style nuclear deal.

Islamabad has once again assured the US that nuclear command and control system will continue to provide international safeguards over the issue.

Informed sources said that the government has asked the US administration to treat Pakistan at par with India so that the government’s plans to set up 8800 MW of nuclear energy plants during the next 25 years were met.

However, the sources said that so far Pakistan has not been “officially informed” that it cannot be offered a nuclear deal like that of India. “We still need to be told in black and white whether we will not get a similar deal like that of India.”

Perspective

Under the US-Indian deal, New Delhi was required to segregate the nuclear facilities serving the weapons and civilian nuclear power generation programme.

The sources said Pakistan was still trying to address the concerns of the West and the United States about nuclear proliferation and has recently told them that Islamabad was ready to install new civilian nuclear power plants under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Authorities have said in a recently concluded general conference of IAEA in Vienna that Pakistan was ready to construct its new power plants with foreign equity partners in order to address the concerns of the West and the United States, it is reported.

The sources said that the government has also conveyed to the Bush Administration that Pakistan was ready to accept the proposed “proliferation resistant nuclear power plants” to ensure that it was only interested to fulfil its future energy requirements keeping in view the high oil prices and increasing global warming across the world.

In a recent high level contact between the two sides, Pakistan told the US authorities that Islamabad was a matured nuclear state. As such it should be given deal on the pattern of India.

Pakistan has also urged the Nuclear Suppliers Group, comprised of developed industrial countries, “not” to single out Pakistan by deciding to provide nuclear energy only to India in the region.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had been requested by Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Pervez Butt to formally seek nuclear deal from the US and the West to meet the country’s 8800 MW of electricity demand during the next 25 years.

After the United States, Britain, Canada and France had also offered nuclear deals to India, which according to the sources should also be offered to Pakistan failing which Islamabad would be constrained to look for other sources to meet its energy needs.

Pakistan has been saying that it was in dire need of importing nuclear power plants to meet its energy targets till the year 2030.

Of Stability

Pakistan, the sources said, did not see any stability in the region if it was continued to be discriminated specially by the United States. India has planned six new nuclear power plants after having assured the required nuclear cooperation by the Bush administration, Britain, Canada and France.

Islamabad has given the details of importing and establishing 13 nuclear power plants to the United States and some other western countries. Also, it said that China was helping to establish another 300 MW of power plant to help Pakistan meet its power needs.

The United States, is waiting for India to submit a plan for separating its civilian and military nuclear facilities, a key part of the US-India agreement.●