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India will ask US to lift ban on arms sale: Fernandes

Declaring that India and the United States were poised to take the security and strategic dialogue to a "higher plane", Defence Minister George Fernandes on Sunday said New Delhi would ask Washington to immediately lift the ban on sale of hi-tech armaments and systems.

Saying that while Afghan-related developments would figure in his talks on Monday with visiting US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Fernandes said more important for the two countries was to take the ongoing security dialogue and strategic relationship to a new high.

He said there was desire on part of both the countries to ensure that the strategic partnership should be reflected in all spheres of bilateral ties, including improvement in military to military relationship.

Rumsfeld, during his brief stay in New Delhi, would be holding two hours of talks with him, Fernandes said.

Appearing on a Doordarshan live chat show, he said there was a wrong notion that the US had imposed a ban on transfer of hi-tech systems to India after 1998 Pokhran tests.

In fact the American denial of technology to Indian had come about as far back as 1950s, he said.

Fernandes said the time had come now for the two countries to see that development of strategic partnership should also lead to removal of such bans.

During his hour-long chat, the defence minister asserted that the government was committed to hi-tech armament procurement, including purchase and induction of systems like unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles, snow mobile sensors, anti-mine vehicles and other equipment.

Declaring that India should not be Pakistan-centric, Fernandes said the aim of US-led international alliance against terrorism, in which Pakistan was co-opting, was targeted at Osama bin Laden and the Taleban.

The defence minister said it was Pakistan that had created the Taleban and was now participating in its destruction.

PTI

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