|
No, says Pak
Islamabad: Pakistan today rejected an allegation that it had illegally modified US-made Harpoon missiles to enhance its ability to attack land targets, including in India, saying “no modification has been made to the missiles under reference”.
— PTI
|
New York, August 30
The US has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying the Harpoon anti-ship missile, sold to it as a defensive tool by the Reagan Administration, to expand its capabilities to strike land targets, a potential threat to India.
The Obama Administration, reported 'The New York Times' in a front page story, lodged its protest with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in June, adding to the tension between the two countries.
Quoting unnamed officials from the Administration and the US Congress, the daily said Washington has also accused Pakistan of modifying American-made P-3C aircraft for land-attack missions, another violation of United States law.
The Obama Administration's accusation confirms New Delhi's assertion that the US military aid is primarily used by Pakistan to strengthen and build up its army against India.
The newspaper said Pakistan has refuted the
charge that it modified the missiles and claimed that it developed these itself. Between 1985 and 1988, the US had provided 165 Harpoon missiles to Pakistan.
The New York Times said top leaders of the Congress have been briefed about the protest lodged by the Obama Administration.
The Congress is currently in the process of approving a legislation which triples the non-military aid to Pakistan which along with the military aid amounts to $ 7.5 billion in five years. The dispute could derail this legislation, the daily said.
“Whatever their origin, the missiles would be a significant new entry into Pakistan’s arsenal against India. They would enable Pakistan’s small navy to strike targets on land, complementing the sizable land-based missile arsenal that Pakistan has developed,” The New York Times said.
“The focus of our concern is that this is a potential unauthorised modification of a maritime anti-ship defensive capability to an offensive land-attack missile,” a senior administration official was quoted as saying.
The potential for “proliferation and end-use violations are things we watch very closely,” the official said. “When we have concerns, we act aggressively,” the official said.
According to The New York Times, a senior unnamed Pakistani official said that the missile tested was developed by Pakistan, just as it had modified North Korean designs to build a range of land-based missiles that could strike India.
Given the strong protest lodged by the Obama Administration, the official told the daily that Pakistan has taken the unusual step of agreeing to allow American officials to inspect the country’s Harpoon inventory to prove that it had not violated the law.
The paper said the latest round of dispute between the US and Pakistan, reflects the “level of mistrust” between them.
“A central element of the American effort has been to get the military refocused on the internal threat facing the country, rather than on threat the country believes it still faces from India.
“Pakistani officials have insisted that they are making that shift. But the evidence continues to point to heavy investments in both nuclear and conventional weapons that experts say have no utility in the battle against insurgents,” the Times said.
— PTI
