Official Spokesperson's Statement on US Announcement of March 18, 2004 in Islamabad

New Delhi
March 20, 2004

We have seen the statement made in Islamabad by the US Secretary of State on March 18 on a prospective notification to the US Congress to designate Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally for the purposes of military-to-military relations.

The Secretary of State was in India just two days before this statement was made in Islamabad. While he was in India, there was much emphasis on India-US strategic partnership. It is disappointing that he did not share with us this decision of the United States Government.

We are studying the details of this decision, which has significant implications for India-US relations. We are in touch with the US Government in this regard.