Pak seeks India-like nuclear package

Days after introduction of a Bill in the US Congress seeking approval for implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, Pakistan said there should be a package for both the neighbours and not country specific pacts on a subject as critical as nuclear technology, in the interest of balance of power in South Asia.

"We do understand and appreciate the underpinnings of the de-hyphenated policy in South Asia but this should not be leaning so heavily on one side," Pakistani Ambassador to Washington Jehangir Karamat said in a statement. The Bill was introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday.

"President Pervez Musharraf has said that our security policy is no longer India-centric. He has also emphasised minimum deterrence as a pillar of our policy and that we do not want an arms race with India," Karamat said.

"Earlier, we had tabled the concept of reciprocal restraint. We hope US policy will take these aspects into consideration. It is also our hope that the policy will not be based on transitory and evolving trends but on relationships that are maturing in these fluid situations," he added.

"Pakistan is, of course, committed to democracy, but its policies are supporting the development of political, social and economic institutions. The military will take its rightful place once this process is complete because right now it is a major driver for institutional development," Karamat said in the statement to the Pakistani journalists.

"We cannot have internal chaos and we need US policy to help and support us in this process. This is not the time for an imbalance in the region," he said.