‘Cooperation in N-technology unlikely from Washington’
By Our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Feb 3: Scholars at a seminar here have said that Pakistan realizes that it cannot receive civilian nuclear cooperation from the United States after the exposure and busting of the A.Q. Khan smuggling network but hopes that Washington will not prevent other nuclear powers from extending similar cooperation to Islamabad.
Speakers at the Woodrow Wilson Centre’s seminar, which concluded on Thursday, said Pakistan would react strongly against the planned Indo-US deal on cooperation in nuclear technology if New Delhi was able to use civilian facilities it received from Washington for military purposes.
They said Pakistan would also oppose the deal if the US supplied nuclear facilities to India but prevented other powers from supplying similar equipment to Islamabad.
“Because of the A.Q. Khan scandal Pakistan tends to believe it’s not in a position to take a more pro-active stance on the nuclear issue,” said Walter Andersen, Associate Director of the South Asia Studies Programme at Johns Hopkins University.
But Pakistan had asked for a similar arrangement with the US that Washington signed with New Delhi on Jan 18 for providing civilian nuclear cooperation to India, he said.
“So far there has been no specific response from the US,” said Mr Andersen.
He said the future of the Indo-US deal was linked to New Delhi’s cooperation with Washington in referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council for punitive action.
Polly Nayak, a consultant said Pakistan could view the Indo-US strategic partnership positively if Washington’s aid and military cooperation continued.
