Concerned India to raise Pak nuke asset security with US

A very worried and concerned India is likely to raise the issue of the security of Pakistan''s nuclear arsenal during a bilateral meeting at Blair House between the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and US President Barack Obama, on the sidelines of the two-day nuclear security summit that is being held here from Monday.

New Delhi is reportedly concerned about terrorist entities like al-Qaida and its affiliates acquiring access to Pakistan’s nuclear assets.

Officials accompanying the Prime Minister on his visit to Washington confirmed that these concerns would be flagged at the appropriate forums, as the summit technically does not allow for naming specific countries.

India, according to the officials, sees the nuclear summit as a vindication of its position that the security of nuclear materials is the key to ensuring non-proliferation and disarmament.

Officials said the Prime Minister’s meeting with Kazakh President Nursulatan Nazarbayev is being viewed as very important as Kazakhstan has been one of the leading advocates of nuclear non-proliferation since it became independent in 1991, and also for having signed important nuclear civil cooperation deals with India. There is a possibility of India seeking Kazakhstan’s support for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

The meeting with French President Nicholas Sarkozy is likely to focus on an upgrading of its relations, of which the civil nuclear agreement forms a big part.

Singh’s meeting with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper will be the first after India and Canada signed a nuclear agreement a few months ago.

India is hoping to get access to Canada’s uranium for its nuclear reactors.