WASHINGTON, Oct 21: US envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Thursday that the United States had asked Pakistan to provide more information about a civilian nuclear arrangement it had concluded with China.

In an interview to visiting Pakistani journalists, the US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan also emphasised the need for a military action against the militants hiding in North Waziristan.

Mr Holbrooke's statement on the nuclear issue followed an earlier statement by his deputy, Frank Ruggiero, who told reporters in Washington that the United States was “not in any discussions with the Pakistanis on civil nuclear cooperation”.

Mr Holbrooke, however, acknowledged holding private conversations with Pakistani officials on Islamabad's 'desire' for a civil nuclear deal like the one the United States concluded with India in 2008.

“We are well aware of Pakistani strategic goal and desire. It's one of the many things we have talked about frankly in private with our friends in Pakistan,” Mr Holbrooke said.

The issue came for discussion during a roundtable Mr Holbrooke held at the State Department with Pakistani journalists who wanted to know why the United States was reluctant to offer civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan.

On the second day of the strategic dialogue that the two sides are holding, some Pakistani officials indicated that enhancing nuclear energy was one of Islamabad's “main strategic goals”.

On the other hand, the Americans have made it clear that they are not offering a nuclear deal to Pakistan, at least not yet.

Meanwhile, Pakistan may quietly try to persuade the US at least to withdraw its objection to an arrangement it has made with China for building new civil nuclear plants at Chashma.

Mr Holbrooke, when asked to comment on US objections to the arrangement, said: “We have asked for more information on the Chinese-Pakistan arrangement to see how they fit in with international regimes.”

Last month, Under-secretary of State for Nuclear Security Thomas D'Agostino told Dawn the US believed that the transfer of new reactors to Chashma extended beyond the cooperation China had reached with Pakistan before joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2004.

He also said that Beijing needed to seek the permission of the 45-nation nuclear suppliers group before making further investments.

China, however, insists that the arrangement with Pakistan was made before it joined the NSG in 2004 and, therefore, NSG restrictions do not apply to this deal.

At the same briefing, Mr Holbrooke acknowledged that Pakistan-India tensions affected the Afghan situation and the United States was willing to help reduce the tensions.

But he made it clear that the United States could not play any mediatory role in resolving the Kashmir dispute, the main cause for tensions between South Asia's two nuclear-armed nations.

Earlier, Mr Holbrooke noted that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had devoted more time to Pakistan than any other country and credited the efforts with easing distrust between the governments, if not the rampant anti-Americanism in Pakistan.

“We believe that we have made a great deal of progress and we believe that that progress has reduced the threat to our homeland, while not eliminating it,” Mr Holbrooke said. But he added: “We all recognise how much more has to be done.”