Pakistan accused of fixing missiles

WASHINGTON has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying US-made anti-ship missiles to make them capable of striking land targets, creating a new threat for India.

The accusation was made in an unpublicised diplomatic protest delivered in late June to Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, senior Obama administration and congressional officials were quoted as saying yesterday. At the centre of the row were Harpoon anti-ship missiles that were sold to Pakistan by the administration of former US president Ronald Reagan as a defensive weapon during the Cold War in the 1980s, The New York Times said.

US military and intelligence officials say they suspect Pakistan has modified the missiles in a manner that would be a violation of the Arms Control Export Act, the paper reported.
Pakistan has denied the charge, saying it developed the missile itself.
But according to the report, US intelligence agencies detected a suspicious missile test on April 23 that appeared to indicate Pakistan had a new offensive weapon.

The missile would be a significant new entry in Pakistan's arsenal against India, the Times said. It would enable Pakistan's navy to strike targets on land, complementing the sizeable land-based missile arsenal that Pakistan has developed.