Pakistan Wednesday reiterated its concerns over the United States-India civilian nuclear cooperation deal, following the approval of a draft bill on the agreement by the US House of Representatives' International Relations Committee.

In response to a question about the approval of the draft, Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said that Pakistan's position, especially its concerns on the US-India agreement, were well-known, according to the official APP news agency.

"We have cautioned the international community about the consequences of this agreement for the shared objectives of stability in South Asia and a strong global non-proliferation regime," she said.

"We have already stated that the objective of strategic stability in South Asia and the global non-proliferation regime would have been better served if the United States had considered a package approach for Pakistan and India, the two non-NPT Nuclear Weapons States, with a view to preventing a nuclear arms race in the region and promoting restraints while ensuring that the legitimate needs of both countries for civilian nuclear power generation are met," she said.

The spokesperson stressed, "Pakistan does not accept any discriminatory treatment."

"While we will continue to act with responsibility in maintaining minimum credible deterrence and to avoid an arms race, we will remain fully committed to our security requirements and the needs of our economic development which demand growth in the energy sector including civilian nuclear power generation," she added.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)