Pak sees little hope of derailing Indo-US N-deal

Pakistan sees "little hope" of "derailing" the proposed Indo-US nuclear deal and has sought reconsideration of Washington's decision not to enter into a similar accord with it, claiming that the deal could disturb the nuclear deterrence level in South Asia.

A Pakistan Army officer, who is currently in Washington and has held briefings for think tanks in the US, also said that Pakistan should have enough weapons as a deterrent against a nuclear attack.

The unnamed officer saw "little hope of derailing the US nuclear deal with India," Pakistani daily 'The News' quoted him as having said at a briefing in Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

"This (the deal) will disturb the minimum deterrence level maintained in South Asia since the 1998 nuclear tests. Pakistan will have to respond to the piling of the fissile material in India and will have to have a more dynamic response to this development," the officer said.

Reports said Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai, head of Pakistan's Strategic and Plan Division, is in Washington these days to counter charges of nuclear proliferation from his country.

Asked about Pakistan's minimum deterrence level, the officer said that the country should have enough weapons to face a nuclear attack.

The officer claimed that the deal could allow India to bulk up its nuclear arsenal and overwhelm Pakistan's "smaller" deterrent.

On Washington's persistent refusal to extend to Pakistan an accord similar to the Indo-US nuclear deal, the officer alleged that the proposed pact with New Delhi was a "one-sided deal" which could prove counter-productive to US strategic objectives in South Asia if Islamabad was not offered a similar arrangement.

He said US policy-makers should make their nuclear policy "criteria-specific and not country-specific," maintaining "it should provide a level playing field for Pakistan as well".

Islamabad, he said, had ambitious nuclear power plans to fuel economic growth.

The officer said Pakistan has to expand its energy production from 19,500 MW to 163,000 MW, an 800 per cent increase, if it wants to maintain the current pace of economic development.

Keeping this in view, he said Pakistan also plans to raise production of nuclear energy from 400 MW to 8,800 MW. "That's why we need a criteria-based approach from the US," he said.

He said if Pakistan were denied parity by the US, it would have consequences because Islamabad will have to meet its needs from some other sources.

Following refusal by Washington to extend an arrangement like the proposed Ino-US deal, Pakistan has negotiated with China to set up six more 300 mw each nuclear power plants in addition to the two already built by Beijing.

An agreement in this regard is expected to be reached during the next month's visit of Chinese President to Islamabad.