ISLAMABAD: U.S. Senator and a former Democratic Presidential candidate, John Kerry, has said for a U.S.-India like civilian nuclear cooperation deal, Pakistan would have to move towards democracy and demonstrate commitment to non-proliferation.

Mr. Kerry, currently on a visit here, called on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday in the port city of Karachi and exchanged views on a wide range of subjects.

Appropriate goal

On Saturday besides visiting the earthquake-affected areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Mr. Kerry met Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. In response to questions after his meeting with Mr. Aziz, the U.S. leader said that a civilian nuclear cooperation pact with his country was "an appropriate goal" for Pakistan but linked the same with democracy and nuclear non-proliferation.

"India is a democracy and it has adhered to the non-proliferation agreement in all the years of its involvement with nuclear facilities. This is not yet true of Pakistan, though Pakistan is moving in that direction," he told reporters.

He said Pakistan and the United States could explore a common ground for cooperation in civilian nuclear technology. Mr. Kerry said during his meeting with Gen. Musharraf he would discuss things that Pakistan needed to do to qualify for equal treatment in this regard — a subject which he had also discussed with the Prime Minister.

He said that when President Bush comes to the region there would be discussions on it. "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.

About remarks he had made in India on civilian nuclear cooperation between Washington and New Delhi, Mr. Kerry said he supported the proposal in principle, but said it still needed to be fleshed out in detail, particularly with respect to the separation of civilian and military facilities.

"So I need to see the final agreement. In principle, it is moving in the right direction," Mr. Kerry added.

He 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".

Meets Aziz

Mr. Aziz said after a two-hour meeting with Mr. Kerry that he had told the U.S. Senator that Pakistan was a declared nuclear power that needed more electricity for sustained economic development.

In this connection, he said, Pakistan was pursuing a programme to generate over 8,000 MW of nuclear energy by 2020 and wanted cooperation with the world in nuclear technology for power generation.

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