The Feb. 21 Kyodo article "We want nuke tech, too" — in which Pakistan demands to be treated the same as India vis-a-vis nuclear technology — rightly mentions the reluctance of Japan to transfer sensitive technology. I suggest that the nuclear records of India and Pakistan would shed more light on the past.

The Indian nuclear program is primarily self-sufficient and self-developed. There has never been an allegation of technology theft. The technology has been developed over 60 years, progressing to the point where India now is planning to use thorium instead of uranium for nuclear fuel. Decades of original research have left an impeccable safety record.

In handling its nuclear assets, India is not at the whim of a totalitarian regime or military dictator. It is well known that Pakistan's nuclear capability is primarily the result of Chinese nuclear proliferation. Furthermore, Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan still goes unpunished despite having sold nuclear technology to North Korea and Libya.

As it develops a nuclear arsenal disproportionate to its needs, Pakistan remains an unstable state that uses its nuclear arsenal to blackmail not only India but also the world in general. It is locked in hate mode with India even though severe domestic problems threaten its integrity. It is not without reason that the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Russia have put their faith in India when it comes to nuclear power development.

In a nutshell, the world needs an India-specific policy, and that includes Japan. India and Japan are natural allies against the nepotistic and hegemonistic forces in Asia that try to force their way by any means. I think it is a failure of Indian diplomacy that an article like the one above, which puts India and Pakistan in the same basket without focusing on their nuclear records, gets published.

vishal sharma