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No plans to extend N-deal to Pakistan: Burns

Source:PTI
December 19, 2006 14:59 IST

As President George W Bush signed the legislation on Indo-US nuclear deal into law, the United States said it has no plans of extending such an agreement to Pakistan as New Delhi's case was "unique".

"We've made clear all along that this is a unique deal to India only," Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said when asked what it would take to offer Pakistan a similar deal.

Burns, who played a key role in negotiating the deal, told reporters in Washington, DC, that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was not unhappy with the India deal, although some Pakistanis beneath him were.

"This is an exemption. We're making an exception for India only, and an exemption to the law for India only," he said.

"India is a unique state. I mean, given the weight that India has, given the impact that India has on global warming, on air pollution because of its dependence on fossil fuel, from an environmental standpoint, an energy standpoint, this makes sense," Burns said.

He said the US wanted to free India of its dependence on Middle Eastern oil by offering it nuclear technology.

Source: PTI
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