New Delhi, August 31: India has noted a US media report suggesting Pakistan had modified US Harpoon anti-ship missiles to hit possible targets in this country and is examining its impact on national security, a senior official said here Monday.
“We have seen the report and studied its contents. The government of India is closely monitoring all the developments having a bearing on national security,” the official said.
“We will take necessary steps,” the official added.
The US has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying Harpoon missiles and the P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft for potential use against India, a report in the New York Times said quoting unnamed US officials.
The Obama Administration, said the report, lodged its protest on this with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in June, adding to the tension between the two countries.
The New York Times said Pakistan has repudiated 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 report has stirred anxieties in New Delhi about Islamabad misusing US aid to bolster its war machine against India.
Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said that India has conveyed to the US that all forms of aid provided to Pakistan is “invariably directed” against New Delhi and providing more arms to Islamabad will not help the peace process in the region.
–Agencies