NEW DELHI, Aug 7: A senior US official said on Monday a controversial US-India civilian nuclear energy deal was “on track,” a report said. “The agreement is on track (and) is moving swiftly forward,” US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard A. Boucher told a business gathering in New Delhi, the Press Trust of India said.

“The US Senate will examine the contents of the agreement in September and I am sure that it will be cleared in just the way it was entered into by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.”

Last Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted 359-68 in favour of the legislation, a first step for the US and India towards clinching the deal which detractors in Washington say will start a nuclear arms race in South Asia.

Under the deal, India will open a series of its civilian reactors to international inspection but keep pre-selected military nuclear facilities out of public scrutiny.

India, which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, conducted a series of nuclear weapons tests in 1998 and then imposed a unilateral moratorium on further testing.

Mr Boucher, who arrived in India last week, also called for joint action against terrorism, including against groups based in Pakistan.

He made the comments after meetings with business leaders and government officials.

“The two sides discussed joint efforts to fight terrorism and felt that terrorism should be fought in all places and all its forms,” Mr Boucher said after a three-hour meeting with government officials.

“We all know there is terrorism in the (South Asia) region. Some of the terrorism is in Pakistan. Some of the groups that have designs against India still have pieces in Pakistan,” he told reporters.—AFP