Pakistan can secure India-like civil N-deal with US: Reidel

[LahoreEstate]

Monday, June 01, 2009
NEW YORK: US President Barack Obama’s key Adviser on South Asia Bruce Riedel has said Pakistan, too, can secure a civil nuclear deal with the US, similar to what Washington recently had with India, but it will need certain assurances from Islamabad to qualify for the same.

Riedel, in his article published in The Wall Street Journal, said Pakistan needed to show that the days of AQ Khan, Kargil and Mumbai were over for good and that it was addressing all the challenges it faced.

He said Pakistan must fulfil the pledge, made by President Asif Ali Zardari, of not using nuclear weapons first, back on the table with India. Besides, Islamabad should also sign the CTBT first without demanding the Indian adherence, Riedel added.

The former CIA officer said Pakistan must also assure the international community that it was working sincerely to counter extremism emanating from its soil that was creating troubles for India and threatening the entire world. “Pakistan’s arsenal works and it does not need to test again,” Riedel said.

Throughout the article, he projects India as an innocent victim of Pakistan’s excesses, conveniently ignoring its aggressions against Pakistan, its oppression against the Kashmiri people and its attempts to establish hegemony in the region. Riedel lauded India for the “remarkable restraint it showed in response to the provocation from Pakistan.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=22470