Khalid Hassan: No nuke deal for Pakistan. India seen in a class of it's own.

Lobbying against US-India N-deal underway

WASHINGTON: A bipartisan group of 16 former US government officials with vast experience in security-related issues has circulated a letter to all members of Congress aimed at killing the US-India nuclear cooperation agreement, which is widely seen as a blow to nuclear nonproliferation efforts worldwide.

With the nonproliferation lobby and several key members of Congress up in arms against what they see as a “sweetheart deal” for New Delhi, Pakistani representatives here show little sign of taking advantage of the situation. Pakistan’s lack of any visible concern, it has been said, springs from the assumption, held by certain decision-makers in Islamabad, that once the deal between India and the US goes through, Pakistan will be in a position to demand the same for itself. It is not known what gives these decision-makers the confidence that a similar deal would be on offer to Pakistan from Washington. Informed opinion here is that no such deal is going to be offered to Pakistan. India is seen by the Bush administration as standing in a class of its own, not to be bracketed with Pakistan.