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Singh assures China, Pakistan on Indo-US ties

WASHINGTON, Thursday (Reuters,AFP) Close India-U.S. ties will not come at the expense of Pakistan or China, the Indian prime minister said on Wednesday at the end of a Washington visit in which he won strong American endorsement of India as a rising power.

But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned Pakistan that the budding peace process between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals would falter unless Islamabad curbed attacks on India from Pakistani territory.

"I am convinced that an improvement in our relations with the United States will also improve the chances of improving our relations both with Pakistan and China," Singh told reporters. "I don't think either Pakistan or China has to worry," he said, adding that New Delhi has worked to resolve friction with Beijing and with Islamabad, including border disputes.

In a warning to Pakistan, however, Singh pointed to what he said were "disturbing" incursions into India by Muslim militants fighting New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir, including a suicide bomb attack on Wednesday in Srinagar.

"If acts of terrorism are not under control, that certainly affects my ability to push forward the process of normalizing relations with Pakistan," he said. Singh will go home having won a significant concession from President George W. Bush, who on Monday unveiled plans to change U.S. law and work with allies to adjust international rules to allow nuclear technology trade with India.

The U.S. policy shift has been challenged by some members of Congress, who have crafted amendments to block any sale of nuclear technology to India as long as it remains outside the NPT framework.

Asked if India viewed itself as a balancer against China, Singh said: "I believe the world is big enough to accommodate the interests of both China and India."

Earlier Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned of "serious" consequences if Islamic militants grabbed power in Pakistan and took control of its nuclear weapons arsenal.

Singh, wrapping up a four-day visit to the United States, said the Al-Qaeda terror network led by Osama bin Laden had a key base in Pakistan and that there was always the risk of Islamic militants seizing power in Pakistan.In an interview with the CNN broadcasting network, the 72-year-old Indian leader said that he was worried about the security of Pakistan's nuclear assets should President Pervez Musharraf be replaced."Well, the security of (nuclear) assets which are under control of Pakistan, I think does worry us. And I hope that credible solutions can be found today with that problem," Singh said.

Asked what specifically worried him about the nuclear weapons, he said, "Well, if they get into the hands of the jihadi element, that could pose a serious problem."

"I hope that this does not happen. And I pray that it will not happen."

On whether he was concerned that Islamic extremists in Pakistan could take charge, Singh said: "Well, there is always a danger.

"And we would like Pakistan to emerge as a moderate Islamic state, and we have a vested interest in the stability and progress in Pakistan."

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