Clinton should urge India to sign NPT: NYT

New York, Jul 19 (PTI) Ahead of her talks with the
Indian leadership, a leading American newspaper has said
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should urge India to drop
its opposition to NPT and consider opening regional arms talks
with Pakistan and China.

In an editorial, the New York Times said Clinton
should assure New Delhi that Washington will keep pressing
Pakistan to prosecute Mumbai attack suspects and shut down the
LeT "once and for all".

"It is time for India to take more responsibility
internationally and to do more to revive the world trade talks
it helped torpedo last year and as a major contributor to
global warming to join the developed countries in cutting
greenhouse gas emissions," it said.

It said India "needs to do a lot more to constrain its
arms race with Pakistan and global proliferation."

"Clinton should urge India to consider opening
regional arms talks with Pakistan and China and drop its
opposition to the test ban treaty," it said.

Noting that the prime focus of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's government must be Pakistan, the paper said it is
encouraged" that India and Pakistan have resumed their
dialogue, interrupted after the 26/11 attacks.

"Clinton needs to assure India that Washington will
keep pressing Pakistan to prosecute suspects linked to the
Mumbai attacks and to shut down the Lashkar-e-Taiba group of
extremists once and for all," the editorial said.

The Secretary of State will hold talks with Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M
Krishna in New Delhi Monday.

"During the negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal,
the Bush administration managed to persude New Delhi to
grudgingly support UN Security Council sanctions against
Iran's nuclear programs. India now needs to do more," the
article said.

The New York Times said India also needs to help allay
Pakistan's fears.

"If resolving tensions over Kashmir — their biggest
flashpoint — is not possible while Pakistan is battling the
Taliban, then talks on water and environmental issues may be
an interim way to seek common ground," it said.

The paper said one of the many concerns about the
nuclear deal was that it would make it easier for India to
expand its arsenal — and drive Pakistan to produce more of its
own weapons. PTI ETB
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