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US move to lift sanctions against India to set example for Pak

As the US Congress meets next month to discuss lifting sanctions against India, a top administration official says the move will be a reference to New Delhi's relatively good behaviour and Pakistan's poorer record.

By lifting sanctions against India, the US would be "setting an example for Pakistan, a reference to India's relatively good behaviour, on selling nuclear-related materials to other countries," chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R Biden said.

Another administration official was quoted by The New York Timesas saying: "Pakistan has a poorer record."

The Bush administration is moving on a broad front to strengthen relations with India, a nation it views as a neglected and potentially important strategic ally and trading partner in Asia, the daily said.

Congress will be asked to lift the sanctions when it returns next month after summer recess.

Biden, who favours the move, had sent a letter to President George W Bush last week expressing his support and indicating that these sanctions could be removed in time for a possible meeting between Bush and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New York next month.

Bush is also planning a visit to India early next year.

The officials said that the sanctions were symbolic as much as practical. "Lifting them now would remove a significant irritant to closer ties."

US Trade Representative Robert B Zoellick earlier this month said that 'the US wants to treat India realistically for what it is, a major country and an emerging power'.

"We want to engage India in a strategic dialogue that encompasses the full range of global issues. The US appreciates that India's influence clearly extends far beyond South Asia," he said.

The Times, quoting administration officials, said that the US has to face the fact that India was a nuclear power and that the genie could not be put back in the bottle.

Biden said he was not prepared to support the request by some other senators to lift sanctions against Pakistan, which also conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998.

Both the US and India have an interest in countering Islamic extremism, particularly in Pakistan, which New Delhi and Washington have each accused of receiving weapons technology from China.

Some American officials, however, believe Pakistan, a strong ally of the US in the 1980's, should not be relegated to the dust heap.

"This is not an either/or game with Pakistan," one senior official was quoted as saying.

Officials have also acknowledged that Washington does not want to alienate Pakistan for fear of encouraging Islamic extremists there or giving them reason to strengthen ties with fundamentalist Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

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