N-deal to get final seal by year-end

New York: Crucial days are ahead for the India-US nuclear deal as the first round of legislation passed by committees in the House and the Senate, goes up before the full chambers on Capitol Hill.

But on the matter of the 11th July bomb blasts in Mumbai, the US is being cautious and refuses to react to India's allegations of a Pakistani link to the terrorist attack.

The India-US nuclear deal could be headed for an endgame soon as the US House of Representatives will take up the legislation within a week and thereafter, it will go to the Senate.

State Department official Richard Boucher is also confident the entire process, including finalising international agreements, could be completed by the end of the year.

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher says, “Once each passes legislation, assuming the legislations are not exactly the same, it will have to go to conference, which will happen after the August recess. So, perhaps in September, they could put through the final legislation.”

Boucher also said the US wants India and Pakistan to cooperate on the issue of combating terrorism in the region and to continue with their dialogue.

“I think our message to everybody is let's find the evidence, let's find out who is responsible and then let's put together how we can stop them,” Boucher adds.

The good news is that the Bush Administration is proactive on the nuclear deal. The bad news is that it would prefer to be reactive when it comes to terrorism in India.

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