India's ruling Congress Party says U.S. Senate approval of a civilian
nuclear pact between the United States and India is a monumental
achievement.
The Senate voted Wednesday 86-13 to approve the
pact, which ends a 34-year ban on U.S. civilian nuclear trade with
India. Under the agreement, the U.S. will share civilian nuclear
technology and material with India, while India will allow some
inspections of its nuclear facilities.
Indian officials say U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit once President Bush signs the pact.
In
Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani says his country wants a
similar agreement with the U.S. India and Pakistan are nuclear rivals
and both countries carried out nuclear tests in 1998. Neither country
has signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
U.S. and
Indian officials say the pact will foster nuclear cooperation and could
lead to billions of dollars of investment opportunities for U.S.
companies involved in nuclear technology.
Indian opposition
and communist parties are criticizing the deal, saying it infringes on
Indian sovereignty and will hurt India's ability to carry out any
possible future nuclear testing. Other critics say the agreement hurts
global efforts to control the spread of nuclear technology.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.