Islamabad, August 31: 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”.
The Foreign Office spokesman “rejected the accusation” in the report in The New York Times that Pakistan had illegally modified Harpoon anti-ship missiles, originally meant for defensive purposes, to strike targets on land.
In a brief statement, the spokesman said “no modification has been made to the missiles under reference”.
The report in the Times said the US administration made an unpublicised diplomatic protest in late June to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other top Pakistani officials over the modification of the missiles.
The modified version could “strike land targets” and posed “a potential threat to India,” the report quoted senior US administration and Congressional officials as saying.
—-Agencies