News Analysis: U.S. nuclear deal with India draws ire of Pakistan

Pakistan has said it has serious concerns over a nuclear deal between the United Staes and India that will allow American companies to supply India with civilian nuclear technology.

President Barrack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a "breakthrough understanding" about the joint civilian nuclear power arrangement Monday in New Delhi. The announcement ended a six-year deadlock on the agreement that would pave the way for the trade of millions of dollars.

Senior Pakistan diplomats have reacted angrily to the pact as they believe it will have a "destabilizing impact on regional stability."

"The operationalization of Indo-U.S. nuclear deal for political and economic expediencies would have a detrimental impact on deterrence stability in South Asia," Pakistan's top security adviser Sartaj Aziz said in a statement on Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasim Aslam said that, "India could use the U.S. civil nuclear technology to make nuclear weapons," which is a serious concern for Pakistan.

Pakistan conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998 after India's tests that had led to fears about a nuclear arms race in South Asia. The Obama-Modi "breakthrough" has now revived this concern with Aziz pointing out that, "Pakistan reserves the right to safeguard its national security interests."

Foreign affairs experts in Pakistan are of the view that the deal could encourage New Delhi to continue with its hard-hitting approach against Pakistan, which could be seen as unfavorable to strategic stability in South Asia.

Pakistan was upset at the Indo-U.S. agreement, in part, because the United States has never positively responded to its longstanding request to seek nuclear technology for a civilian energy program, sources close to the matter have said.

Pakistan is a resource-poor country and has been ardently looking into all possible energy sources including nuclear power, to meet its requirements. In winter, Pakistan is currently resorting to hours of power load-shedding across the country, as there is a huge gap between production capacity and demand.

Political analysts have opined that a vast majority in Pakistan believe Washington has never treated it equally when it deals with its arch-rival India, in spite of its role in the U.S.-led international coalition that also allowed the American military the use some of its defense facilities to carry out attacks against the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan had offered several of its airbases for the U.S. forces to launch air strikes against the Taliban in late 2001 following the attacks in New York and Washington. There is a common perception in Pakistan that the United States is responsible for the instability in the country as the United States has always served its own interests, some political observers have attested.

Pakistan is now weighing its options as to how to meet the possible challenges in the wake of the Indo-U.S. defense cooperation.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif summoned the country's ambassador in New Delhi, Abdul Basit, for consultations.

Basit briefed the prime minister about the outcome of President Obama's visit and the prime minister's office quoted Sharif as saying, "India is an important neighbor for us and we would like to have normal relations with the country on the basis of mutual respect and sovereign equality."

President Obama skipped Pakistan on his India trip, the second U.S. President after President George H. Bush to have not visited Pakistan. However, Obama had earlier spoken to Sharif by telephone to allay any concerns over the visit.

Islamabad also criticized Obama's support for India to occupy a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and said India "by no means qualifies for a special status in the Security Council" because it has violated the Security Council's resolutions. Endi