Wednesday, June 21 2006 10:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The proposed Indo-US civil nuclear agreement violates an article of the Non-Proliferation Treaty which prohibits members from assisting or inducing any non-nuclear weapon state to acquire nuclear weapons, a group of non-proliferation experts have claimed.

In a letter to members of the Congress, the experts also flayed the state department for a 'narrow construct' of the NPT and argued that "India may not have to comply with the Treaty, but the US, as a signatory to it, has a solemn responsibility not only to discourage proliferation by others but to refrain from assisting other states' nuclear weapons programme in any way."

"The current proposal would breach this central provision of the treaty," the letter pointed out.

The proposed Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement violates Article One of the NPT and for the State Department to have come to the conclusion that the accord is not a violation of the NPT is not correct as Foggy Bottom 'construes the meaning of the NPT so narrowly as to render it meaningless, the specialists said in the letter.

The letter to Members of Congress was distributed to participants at a symposium on the United States India Nuclear Deal at the Arms Control Association.

Article One of the NPT, the non-proliferationists have told law makers, prohibits members from assisting, encouraging or inducing any non-nuclear weapon state manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices.