Islamabad, Aug 10 (Inditop.com) Pakistan is seeking a civilian nuclear deal with the US to overcome its energy needs and this cannot be ruled out in future, a top official said Monday.
Denying reports that Pakistan had signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a precursor to opening negotiations with Washington on a civilian nuclear deal, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Asif Ahmed Ali, however, said Islamabad was trying its level best to strike the deal.
Pakistan has not signed such agreement that bars it from signing a nuclear deal with any country, Online news agency quoted Ali as telling reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
Pakistan has for long been clamouring for a civilian nuclear deal with the US on the lines of the one inked with India. Washington, however, has ruled this out.
Ali noted that Pakistan was the only country in the world with which China was cooperating for nuclear power generation. Pakistan was also working to generate power through alternate sources like solar, hydro and coal, he added.