NEW DELHI, Jan 10: A senior US Congressman has urged his country to stall the proposed sale to New Delhi of dual-use nuclear technology, an Indian news report said on Friday.

United News of India quoted Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as saying in a letter to Commerce Secretary Donald Evans that although India is “our ally, it has shown no interest in ending its nuclear and conventional arms race with Pakistan.”

‘“Dual-use technology could allow India to miniaturise nuclear weapons for installation on missiles and to design nuclear submarines that could threaten any port in the world,” the letter was quoted by UNI as saying.

Mr Markey’s letter surfaced within days of a decision between India and the United States to meet next month to fine tune the technology transfer proposal.

UNI said Mr Markey, who also is the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Nonproliferation, said that given US interests in preventing spread of nuclear weapons, “I do not believe that the United States should allow a nation that has thumped its nose at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to obtain access to dual-use technology.”—Jay Enn