--- description: The United States is in the early stages of exploring a nuclear deal with Pakistan. title: U.S. Looking Into Nuclear Deal With Pakistan, Report Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fbeaad2c5f2d27f/6988686e2dce01539e9e607f/nawaz-sharif.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pakistan](/tag/pakistan/) ## Pakistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Looking Into Nuclear Deal With Pakistan, Report Says  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 15, 2015 2:34 PM CUT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at United Nations headquarters, Sept. 27, 2015. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at United Nations headquarters, Sept. 27, 2015.Jason DeCrow—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 15, 2015 2:34 PM CUT The United States is in the early stages of exploring a [nuclear deal](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/world/asia/us-exploring-deal-to-limit-pakistans-nuclear-arsenal.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") with Pakistan to limit the country’s nuclear arsenal, according to a report. The New York _Times_, citing anonymous officials and outside experts familiar with the talks, reports that the U.S. is exploring a deal with Pakistan, whose nuclear program is the fastest-growing on earth. The _Times_ notes there is particular concern that the nation may be close to deploying a small nuclear weapon. “If Pakistan would take the actions requested by the United States, it would essentially amount to recognition of rehabilitation and would essentially amount to parole,” George Perkovich, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the _Times_ of the potential agreement, which would loosen controls imposed on Pakistan by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries trying to curb nuclear proliferation. Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be in Washington, D.C., next week, but the _Times_ reports government officials aren’t optimistic that Pakistan would agree to a deal, especially since it sees the nuclear program as its main defense against India. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/world/asia/us-exploring-deal-to-limit-pakistans-nuclear-arsenal.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4074778/us-nuclear-deal-pakistan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4074778/us-nuclear-deal-pakistan/"},"headline":"U.S. Looking Into Nuclear Deal With Pakistan, Report Says","datePublished":"2015-10-15T14:34:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:49:36.890Z","description":"Pakistan may be on the verge of developing a small nuclear weapon","url":"https://time.com/4074778/us-nuclear-deal-pakistan/","keywords":["Pakistan","Weapons"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fbeaad2c5f2d27f/6988686e2dce01539e9e607f/nawaz-sharif.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fbeaad2c5f2d27f/6988686e2dce01539e9e607f/nawaz-sharif.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"John Kerry, Nawaz Sharif","caption":"John Kerry, Nawaz Sharif","creditText":"Jason DeCrow—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pakistan/","name":"Pakistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4074778/us-nuclear-deal-pakistan/","name":"U.S. Looking Into Nuclear Deal With Pakistan, Report Says"}}]}] ```