Islamabad: The US today (March 18, 2004) announced it will designate Pakistan as a "major non-NATO ally", a move that would strengthen Defence co-operation between the two countries and lift restrictions on weapon sales to Islamabad.

Visiting Secretary of State Colin Powell, after meeting Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, said US President George W Bush would soon designate Pakistan as a "major non-NATO ally".

"I advised the (Pakistan) Foreign Minister this morning that we will also be making a notification to our Congress that will designate Pakistan as a 'major non-NATO ally' for the purposes of our future military-to-military relations," Powell, who is here on the final leg of his three-nation South Asian tour that took him to India and Afghanistan earlier, said at a joint press conference with Kasuri.

The announcement came despite global concerns about the nuclear proliferation row involving top Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. It also coincided with Pakistan launching a fresh offensive against suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in tribal areas near Afghanistan border.

The designation means that Pakistan will join an exclusive club of nations including Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines, which are given preferential treatment by US in the areas of foreign aid and Defence co-operation.

Welcoming the Pakistani military activities in tribal areas, Powell said, "We are committed to a long-term relationship with Pakistan."

About nuclear proliferation issue, Powell said, "Questions have arisen as to not only what Dr Khan and his associates might have been doing, but was there any other knowledge within the Government at the time it was happening."

Khan, the architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme, admitted to transferring nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea and was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf.