Amid growing speculation that the United States is exploring an India-type civil Nuclear deal with Pakistan in a bid to contain Islamabad’s fast-expanding Nuclear arsenal, the White House has discounted the prospect of any such deal emerging at the meeting between President Barack Obama and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here next week.
However, for the first time, the White House has confirmed that it is holding talks with Pakistan on the broader concerns of Nuclear safety and security, without indicating what it may be willing to offer Islamabad in return for compliance on limiting its Nuclear weapons programme.
“I would not be overly excited about the prospects of reaching the kind of agreement that is being speculated about publicly,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters when asked about media reports that the US is trying to hammer out a nuclear deal with Pakistan.
“I know there’s been a lot of public speculation about this,” Earnest said, commenting dismissively: “The expectation that we have is that a deal like the one that’s been discussed publicly is not something that’s likely to come to fruition next week.”
In recent days, The Washington Post and The New York Times have reported that the Obama administration is actively exploring a deal because of mounting concerns over Pakistan’s expanding nuclear arsenal, heightened by worries about its safety and security.
While The Post did hint at the pursuit of an India-type civil nuclear deal, The Times report said the central element of the US proposal would be “a relaxation of strict controls put on Pakistan by the Nuclear Suppliers Group”.
However, citing people familiar with the discussions, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that “the exploratory talks aren’t considered likely to progress very far….because Pakistan is seen as unwilling to accept limitations on its nuclear programme”. It quoted a Pakistani official as saying that “a lot of homework needs to be done” before talks can advance.
At his briefing, the White House spokesman said the United States and Pakistan are “regularly engaged in a dialogue about the importance of nuclear security”, adding he would anticipate the dialogue to include conversations between the leaders of the two countries.