Us-pak Agreement

Amidst talk of a possible US-Pak civil nuclear deal, two top US think-tanks have asked Pakistan to take five initiatives, including signing the Test Ban Treaty without waiting for India, to win the confidence of the international community.

The United States has downplayed reports of a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan, similar to the Indo-US atomic agreement, during Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to Washington, saying a "breakthrough" in this regard was not expected.

Ending a bitter seven-month standoff, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton apologised to Pakistan on Tuesday for the killing of 24 of its troops last fall and won in return the reopening of critical NATO supply lines into Afghanistan. The agreement could save the US hundreds of millions of dollars.

Amidst talk of a possible US-Pak civil nuclear deal, two top US think-tanks have asked Pakistan to take five initiatives, including signing the Test Ban Treaty without waiting for India, to win the confidence of the international community.

The United States has downplayed reports of a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan, similar to the Indo-US atomic agreement, during Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to Washington, saying a "breakthrough" in this regard was not expected.

Ending a bitter seven-month standoff, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton apologised to Pakistan on Tuesday for the killing of 24 of its troops last fall and won in return the reopening of critical NATO supply lines into Afghanistan. The agreement could save the US hundreds of millions of dollars.