This obfuscated the nature of Islamabad's nuclear and missile programmes which were based on clandestine acquisitions and transfers, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

In the statement, India also called on all nuclear weapons states and the international community to join it in opening early negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention in a global non-discriminatory framework.

The Ministry said that nuclear weapons should be tackled in the same way in which the other weapons of mass destruction had been dealt with through the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

On the Security Council's references to India, the Ministry said that "much of the council's statement is a repetition of the one issued on May 14 (after India conducted nuclear tests) to which we have already given aresponse on May 15."

The Ministry said that it was "astonished" that the council urged India not to conduct any further nuclear tests, especially after Prime Minister A B Vajpayee had categorically told Parliament that India would observe a voluntary moratorium on further tests.

It also said that Vajpayee had announced that India was willing to participate in the negotiations on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty in the Commission on Disarmament in Geneva. Reiterating India's commitment to friendly relations with all its neighbours and the resolution of all outstanding issues through bilateral dialogue, the ministry asserted that this was a manifestation of India's national confidence and strength.

"Our proposals for the modalities of the dialogue as also a range of other proposals are with Pakistan and we await their response. Our dialogue includes peace and security issues, including confidence building measures," it said. The international community could rest assured that on India's part there was nodesire to heighten tensions and Islamabad faced no threat from it.

India's commitment to restraint was evident from the Prime Minister's statement that his government was ready to discuss a "no first use" agreement with Pakistan as also with other countries bilaterally or in a collective forum, the ministry said.

Accusing the Security Council of ignoring India's security concerns which go beyond South Asia, the statement said the nuclear tests conducted by it were not directed against any country.

India's offer rejected