NEW DELHI: If the civilian nuclear deal with the United States fails, India will still have its own programme, including fast-breeder reactors, according to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy on the deal Shyam Saran.

Mr. Saran was speaking at a conference, organised by Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace, on Monday.

He said if the deal did do through, it would imply the loosening of the international nuclear market for India.

Mr. Saran's remarks constitute, perhaps, one of the first public statements from the Government that the July 2005 understanding may not clear the legislative hurdles in the U.S. Congress.

Mulford's statement

The U.S. Ambassador, David Mulford, said recently that the Senate may or may not take up the deal in its coming "lame duck session."

Mr. Saran said the understanding had little to do with nuclear weapons. It was not an arms control measure. It would not impact the regional security situation.

New Delhi stood for total elimination of nuclear weapons. At a later stage, it was possible that India and Pakistan could together put the disarmament issue on the global agenda.

Nuclear weapon states

India and Pakistan were nuclear weapons states and this reality could not be wished away. Both should behave responsibly. They were in the process of agreeing to confidence-building measures in the nuclear arena.

Besides the agreement on non-attack on each other's nuclear installations, both had entered into an accord on prior notification of ballistic missile tests.

Mr. Saran said the two sides were close to an agreement on reducing the risks of a nuclear war. The issue would figure in the coming meeting of Foreign Secretaries in New Delhi.

"When India's case is taken up with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, it will have to be recognised that New Delhi has a strategic weapons' programme."

Ruling out adherence to full-scope safeguards, Mr. Saran said the India-specific safeguards would be limited to the facilities declared civilian by New Delhi as well as whatever was obtained through international cooperation.

Prof. Ramaswamy Iyer and Major General (retd.) Dipankar Bannerjee also spoke.

The session was presided over by the former Pakistani Information Minister, Javed Jabbar.

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