Pak seeks N-deal, drone tech, military hardware from US:Report

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Mar 23 (PTI) Ahead of its strategic dialogue
with the US, Pakistan has submitted a 56-page document to the
Obama Administration seeking a civil nuclear deal, drone
technology and military hardware to bring itself on par with
India, according to a media report.
In the document, which is believed to have been submitted
to the US before the arrival of the high-power Pakistani
delegation here on Saturday last, Islamabad also seeks
American help in revival of the Indo-Pak dialogue stalled
since the Mumbai attacks and resolving its chronic water and
power shortages.
The Pakistani delegation for Wednesday's strategic
dialogue include army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and ISI's
Lt Gen Shuja Pasha. It is headed by Foreign Minister Shah
Mahmood Qureshi, who would co-chair the strategic dialogue
with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The 56-page Pakistani document outlines a range of aid
Islamabad is seeking from the US, The Wall Street Journal
reported citing American and Pakistani officials who have seen
it or been briefed on its contents.
The daily said Pakistan's fears of being outflanked by
India, which has forged close ties with the Afghan government,
are reflected in the document's indirect language about
regional security issues.
"The document raises concerns about India's effort to
modernise its military, in part through buying US equipment
and weapons," it said.
The high-level meeting between senior Pakistani
and US officials here tomorrow "aims to stitch together their
fraying alliance," the report said.
"Right now, we're looking at something that could
deliver a big part of our success in Afghanistan," a senior US
military official was quoted as saying.
"Many of Pakistan's requests build on longstanding
demands for more US assistance. But officials on both sides
say that by detailing them in a single comprehensive document,
Islamabad is trying to signal its willingness to align its
interests with those of Washington, its vision for a
partnership—and its price," the newspaper said.
Among the requests is "greater cooperation between
its spy agency and US intelligence outfits, more helicopter
gunships and other military hardware needed to battle its own
Taliban insurgency, and improved surveillance technology, such
as pilot-less drone aircraft," The Wall Street Journal said.
"Pakistan also wants a civilian nuclear energy
cooperation deal with the US, and a role in any future peace
talks between the Western-backed Afghan government and the
Taliban," it reported. (MORE) PTI