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Ex-NSA Brajesh Misra: Throw away Indo-US N-deal New Delhi: Former Principal Secretary and National Security Adviser to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee Brajesh Mishra today trashed the July 18, 2005 civilian nuclear deal signed between India and the United States during Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's landmark summit visit to that country. In an exclusive interview to Asian News International, Mishra said that the so-called historic deal of bilateral reciprocity could end up compromising New Delhis strategic interests and its status as a non-proliferating entity in the international community. "The July 18 Indo-U.S. deal should be thrown in the waste paper basket," said Mishra, adding that had he been consulted or been the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, he would have cautioned Dr. Manmohan Singh about the long-term implications of the deal. Elaborating further, Mishra said that it would have been in New Delhi's interest to have 'some amount of understanding with the United States and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on the issue of sharing civilian nuclear energy.' "But, the way in which the July 18 deal has been expressed and elaborated, it indicates America's intent of restricting our (India's) ability to have more nuclear weapons, and it is bound to hit on our strategic capability," he added. Recalling past deliberations on India's nuclear policy, Mishra said that there had always been a national consensus, but under the present administrative dispensation, "our strategic capability and effort to have minimum nuclear deterrence is sought to be curbed by the Americans." "They (the Americans) want to have a credible programme of submission of all our nuclear reactors to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards, and if we do this, then we can never have credible nuclear deterrence." When he was asked whether any artificial deadline was being created, Mishra said: "The lure of the Bush visit (to India in March) and it being successful has been equated with the success of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal." The present scenario could only change if Washington unconditionally accepted India as a nuclear power. "The idea of credible minimum deterrence is flexible, as it would change with the prevailing geo-political situation," the former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister said. On the ongoing composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan, which was activated immediately after the 12th SAARC Summit in January 2004, Mishra said that the bilateral peace process is in jeopardy because Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has not fulfilled the assurances that he had given to former Prime Minister Vajpayee during the latter's visit to Pakistan in January 2004 on the sidelines of SAARC. It maybe recalled that Musharraf had given an undertaking to Vajpayee that Pakistan's territory would not be used by terrorists or for terrorist activity and only when this goal was met, would Islamabad and New Delhi talk about restoration of peace and maintenance of regional stability. According to Mishra, the April 2005 Joint Statement issued on behalf of President Musharraf and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during the former's visit to New Delhi to watch a one-day India-Pakistan international, completely nullified the understanding of the January 2004 pact between Musharraf and Vajpayee. That statement said that terrorism will not be allowed to impede the peace process, as opposed to the earlier view that bilateral talks would only take place after Pakistan completed dismantled the terrorist structure on its territory. "How can we believe Musharraf because one day he says that terrorism will not be allowed from his territory, and on another day he asks for demilitarizing Kashmir for terrorism to stop? We are responsible for this situation because we have given loopholes for Musharraf to walk through it," said Mishra. However, he said, that the dialogue process should continue, but it "must be predicated with the assurance that he had given, then only can it proceed." |
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