Backing the civilian nuclear pact with India, United States Senator John Kerry has said it is a strong democracy and abides by the principles of non-proliferation, which is not true about Pakistan, though it aspires for a similar accord with Washington.
"I support a nuclear deal with India, in principle. There is a strong democracy in India and they abide by the principles of non-proliferation. This is not yet true of Pakistan," he told reporters after meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday night.
Kerry said he supported the proposed deal with India in principle even though it still needed to be worked out in detail, particularly with respect to the separation of civilian and military facilities.
"So I need to see the final agreement. In principle, the deal is moving in the right direction," the former Democrat Presidential candidate said.
On Pakistan's desire to get a smilar deal, Kerry said, "I hope things with Pakistan are moving in the right direction and Pakistan too is given equal treatment, if it meets certain standards".
He said the nuclear deal would be an 'appropriate goal for Pakistan'.
Kerry's remarks on Saturday night came after Aziz said he made out a case for Pakistan getting a similar nuclear deal, which Washington struck with New Delhi during his talks with the US Senator.
Aziz told reporters after his meeting with Kerry that he had informed the US Senator that Pakistan would seek to obtain civilian nuclear technology from anywhere in the world to meet its energy requirements.
The remarks were seen as an attempt by Pakistan to get nuclear reactors from China, citing the India-US nuclear pact. Pakistan recently denied reports that it planned to acquire eight nuclear power plants from China but local media continues to speculate on it.
Aziz said he told the US senator that Pakistan was a declared nuclear power that needed more electricity for sustained economic development.
In this connection, he said, Pakistan is pursuing a programme to generate over 8,000 MW of nuclear energy by 2020 and wants cooperation with the world in nuclear technology for power generation.
Kerry said he would discuss what Pakistan needed to do to qualify for equal treatment in this regard with Pervez Musharraf. The Senator met the Pakistan president on Sunday and held detailed discussions, covering regional, bilateral and global issues, officials said.
The Senator said the issue is expected to figure during the scheduled visit of President George W Bush to the region.
"In the meantime, we can find ways for common ground to make it possible. It is an appropriate goal. We need to work together and, hopefully, we can get there," he said.
Kerry also praised Pakistan for its cooperation in the difficult period following the 9/11 incident - "If we stay on course and work together, all of us would be stronger".
According to him, Pakistan is interested in 'making certain that radical, extremists and foreign intruders do not hijack either the country or the religion'.