Australia on Friday rejected Pakistan's call for selling uranium to the South Asian nation.
Pakistan Minister for Religious Affairs Ejaz ul-Haq said earlier Friday that if Australia is considering selling uranium to India, then Pakistan should be offered the same deal.
This came after Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Thursday that despite India not having signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, uranium could be sold to power stations open to the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Ijaz ul Haq said it is a diplomatic issue and Pakistan should be considered alongside India.
But Downer said on Friday that selling uranium to Pakistan is out of the question because Pakistan's two nuclear power stations are not monitored by the United Nations, Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio reported.
"I don't think there's any prospect in the foreseeable future of exporting to Pakistan, unless Pakistan gets into some sort of a system of UN inspections and control over its two civil nuclear facilities and it comes to Australia and seeks a nuclear safeguards agreement," he was quoted as saying.
"It doesn't seem likely that's about to happen," Downer added.
There are also media reports saying the Australian cabinet will soon consider a submission by Downer which allows the sell of uranium to India and has been finalized.
