"I don't think there is one," US Ambassador David C Mulford said when asked about the possibility of Washington having a civil nuclear deal with Islamabad on the lines of Indo-US agreement.

Ever since negotiations started on the Indo-US nuclear deal in July 2005, Pakistan has been pleading for a similar agreement citing parity with India.

China has lately started taking up Pakistan's case in a veiled manner.

At the meeting of Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna last week to consider waiver for India, a Chinese representative had said the 45-nation grouping should address similar ‘aspirations’ of other countries too.

Though Mulford did not elaborate, the US feels that Pakistan cannot be treated on par with India in the civil nuclear field considering its bad track record in this area.

Pakistan is known to be a source of nuclear proliferation, with even its former chief scientist A Q Khan being found guilty of indulging in this act.

To a question on China's negative role at the NSG, Mulford refused to comment, merely saying ‘In the end, they did the right thing’.