No US nuclear aid on cards for Pakistan

US President George W Bush praised Pakistan’s fight against terrorism as unfaltering this weekend but turned down an appeal for the same civilian nuclear help the United States intends to give India, the country’s arch rival.

“Pakistan and India are different countries with different needs and different histories,” Mr Bush said at a news conference with President General Pervez Musharraf. The White House said that was a diplomatic way of saying no, at least not now.

The day Mr Bush visited the capital, pro-Taliban tribesmen and Pakistani security forces engaged in a fierce battle near the Afghan border. Dozens of militants were reported killed in the clash.