Monday, September 12 2005 17:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan may seek US cooperation for the installation of four 1,000 MW nuclear power reactors to overcome any energy crisis in return for abandoning the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline.

President Pervez Musharraf during his forthcoming talks with his American counterpart George W Bush may ask US for the installation of three to four nuclear power plants in exchange for giving up on the IPI, a media report said.

The report in the 'Daily Times' newspaper came as Musharraf reached New York where he would hold talks with Bush on September 14, besides Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

A senior US official has already ruled out Washington extending a nuclear deal similar to the one reached with India on civilian nuclear energy with Pakistan.

Indian and Pakistani leaders have time and again said the IPI project is in the interest of both countries, but if the US pressure on Pakistan increased, it has plans to seek American cooperation for the installation of the latest nuclear power plants in the country, which would ensure energy supply required for the country's economic growth, a senior Pakistan official was quoted as saying.

Pakistan has already made plans to increase its nuclear capacity to generate 8,500MW of nuclear power from the current nuclear power capacity of 427MW, by 2020.

The country needs gas and electricity to sustain its current economic growth for the next 10 years, the official in the Planning Division was quoted as saying.