Friday, September 9 2005 13:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The United States entered into a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with India because it was an 'exceptional case', a senior State Department official said and ruled out negotiating any such pact with Pakistan.

"We view India as an exceptional case, and see civil nuclear cooperation as a mechanism to deepen further India's commitment to international nonproliferation," Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert G Joseph said.

"Some have asked whether it might be possible to extend such cooperation to Israel and Pakistan, the only other two (de facto weapon) states that did not join the NPT," he said, adding India, Israel and Pakistan are each unique and require different approaches.

"Neither Pakistan nor Israel has a civil nuclear energy programme that approximates that of India. The United States has no plans to seek full civil nuclear cooperation with Israel or Pakistan," he told the House International Relations Committee in Washington.

He said people have questioned the rationale behind inking a civil nuclear cooperation pact with India as it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and have asked why a cap on India's production of fissile material for weapons was not part of the deal.

He said the US recognize that India was a special case and see a clear need to come to terms with it.

"India has informed us that it has no intention of becoming a party to the NPT as a non-nuclear state at this time. Despite this, it is important to seize this opportunity to assist India in becoming a more constructive partner in our global nonproliferation efforts," he said.