Maintaining that the US decision on a $1.3-billion military assistance package to Pakistan would not have any impact on the ongoing India-Pakistan dialogue, Mulford told a news conference that India should "de-hyphenate" its relations with the US from Pakistan.

"We would like to have a very important economic and military relationship with India. We would like to be a big supplier of military equipment to India," he said.

"I don't see why it (arms supply to Pakistan) should have any impact on the dialogue," he said.

When a reporter said it was the US which hyphenated its relations with India and Pakistan, Mulford noted that Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, during his visit to India last week, had not visited Pakistan.

India has said the supply of sophisticated weapon systems to Pakistan would adversely affect the peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad and impact on growing India-US ties.

"I don't think any one of these things (being supplied) would change anything in the overall relations between India and Pakistan. None of this is significant militarily," Mulford said.

"It is important for both countries not to view all developments through the prism of the other country."

The US plans to supply sophisticated weapons like P3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, anti-tank missiles and guns for warships to Pakistan to bolster the latter's capability for the war on terror.

Indian officials pointed out that equipment like the Orion aircraft had "no relevance" to the campaign against terror.

"Perhaps, they can be used to monitor developments in one's own country," Mulford quipped.

He said the US expected India to achieve the vision it had set for itself to become a world power. The US viewed this country as an emerging regional and world power, he said.

Mulford, however, admitted progress on the supply of military hardware to India had been slow because of both the cost factor and New Delhi's doubts about the reliability of the US as a supplier.

He said Indian concerns about reliability were understandable but "greatly overblown."

The nature of bilateral relations had changed to "strategic relationship", he said, adding: "There is a clear commitment on the part of the US to the importance of the strategic partnership that is being developed."

Mulford denied there had been a loss of momentum in India-US relations after the Congress-led government assumed office in May and said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's administration was equally enthusiastic about bilateral ties.

--Indo-Asian News Service