The 123 Agreement states that the imports under the deal "shall be subject to safeguards in perpetuity in accordance with the India-specific Safeguards Agreement between India and the IAEA and an Additional Protocol, when in force". While the actual draft of the Additional Protocol (AP) applicable to India may have to be negotiated and agreed to at a later date , it is absolutely necessary that a prior agreement between the IAEA and India on the essential features of such an Additional Protocol must be reached simultaneous with the finalization of the safeguards agreement and before signing it . The most intrusive actions under safeguards are always taken on the basis of this protocol , including the "pursuit clause" which permits interference with our non-civilian programs on the basis of unsubstantiated suspicion . India needs to make it clear what the limits are beyond which we will not entertain any IAEA action or intrusion , and it should be clear that a standard Model Protocol applicable to non-nuclear weapon States will not be acceptable to India. The leverage to debate and get the kind of restricted additional protocol we want will be entirely lost once a safeguards agreement alone is first put in place and the installations put under safeguards . As we understand , the lim
