Now that the nuclear tests have been conducted and India declared itself a nuclear power, the question remains -- what next? According to Shirin, this is the key point on which the future of India hinges. ``By the end of this century are you going to go in for social schemes or spend trillions of dollars, engaging yourself in an arms race that has disastrous consequences, when South East Asia has over 500 million people below living the poverty line?'' she asked.

Speaking on the relevance of trade between India and Pakistan, Shirin claimed that inspite of official trade between the neighbours restricted to 100 million dollars a year, private enterprise had succeeded in trading goods worth over two billion dollars lastyear.

She felt that this was an indicator of ground-level emotions, that ultimately trade is more important than political victories. She is presently working on a project trying to involve both India and Pakistan in non-controversial areas like energy and environment.

Shirin, who has served as an Alternate US Representative to the United Nations, called for a gradual shift in bilateral talks between India and Pakistan from the bureaucratic to the political level. ``Records show that for 50 years, bureaucrats have only been trying to stymie the progress of talks. What we now need is strong political will,'' she said.

Laying the parameters for future discussion between the US and India on nuclear disarmament, the former member of the Reagan administration felt that the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), along with a gradual realisation that a nuclear arms race would not be conducive for regional peace, would be needed for the success of these talks. ``Why should India waste time tosign the CTBT knowing fully well that staying out of the treaty would only lead to further isolation of the country?'' she wondered.

Shirin denied a US bias towards Pakistan, saying during the era of Ford and Carter, pressure was applied on Pakistan when it tried to acquire a reprocessing plant from France. When Pakistan failed to buckle down, US attention turned to France which was forced to back out of the deal.

Shirin was in Mumbai on the last leg of her nearly month-long tour of India, which she spent explaining the stance of the US with respect to the nuclear explosions carried out at Pokhran in May. She leaves for Pakistan on Friday for a similar exercise.