Finally the Americans seem to have realized it is high time it told the Pakistanis not to meddle with the arms it supplied to Pakistan to wage war against the terrorists nestled in that country. India has been saying for quite some time that Pakistan is using the planes and missiles the American gave it to fight the Taliban and other terrorist groups against India. But the American administration seemed not to care.
Now The New York Times has reported that Pakistan has also altered the structure of the planes and missiles America gave it, in such a way that they can be used against India. The paper reports that Obama administration has accused Pakistan of altering the structures of the Harpoon anti-ship missile and aircraft P-3C.
Harpoon is a barbed spear used for hunting large fishes. The Harpoon missile is an all-weather anti ship missile developed by the US. It can be launched from air crafts and ships. It flies at a wave-skimming altitude till it reaches the target ship. The missile as it is constructed cannot be used against any target on land. However, Pakistan has changed the structure of the missile so as to make it capable of attacking a target on land. And the target is obviously India.
The P-3C is a maritime surveillance aircraft. The air craft has advanced anti-submarine warfare avionics including the IBM Proteus and an advanced acoustic processor
The daily reports that the Obama administration has lodged a protest with the Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani in June 2009.
Indian External Affairs Minister Mr. S. M. Krishna had told the Americans that giving arms to Pakistan without verifying how Pakistan was using them would be counter productive. India knows that Pakistani’s are using the American weapons meant to use against the terrorist groups inside that country, are being used against India for some time. India had also conveyed its concerns to the American administration. But the American administration obsessed as it is with the war on terror is yet to address the Indian concerns.
According to The New York Times, Pakistan has denied the American charge and claimed that it developed the missiles on its own.
Meanwhile Mr. Hans M. Kristensena, top American scientist, has said, citing the Nuclear Notebook, that Pakistan has been developing nuclear arms at a fast pace. According to his report the number of nuclear war heads Pakistan has at present is somewhere around 70-90. According to Kristensen, Shaheen-II medium range ballistic missile would be operational quite soon. In addition to this Pakistan is also developing two types of cruise missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear devices. One of them, Babur is launched from the ground and the other named Ra-ad, is launched from air.
A chemical separation facility and two plutonium production reactors are also nearing completion. According to Kristensen Pakistan’s ability to make cruise missiles that can carry nuclear devices point to the fact that Pakistani designers and engineers have succeeded in making small and light plutonium warheads.
India should take note of all these developments and take precautionary measure so as not to be caught unawares. Instead of asking the Americans to keep an eye on the activities of Pakistan, and asking them to declare Pakistan as a rouge country or a failed state we must prepare ourselves to meet all eventualities. We have fought Pakistan three times and beaten them. Now they know well that it is not that easy to beat India in a war. The recent Kargil war must have driven this point again. All the same we cannot be complacent about the threats from Pakistan as long as it sees India as its enemy.
Now The New York Times has reported that Pakistan has also altered the structure of the planes and missiles America gave it, in such a way that they can be used against India. The paper reports that Obama administration has accused Pakistan of altering the structures of the Harpoon anti-ship missile and aircraft P-3C.
Harpoon is a barbed spear used for hunting large fishes. The Harpoon missile is an all-weather anti ship missile developed by the US. It can be launched from air crafts and ships. It flies at a wave-skimming altitude till it reaches the target ship. The missile as it is constructed cannot be used against any target on land. However, Pakistan has changed the structure of the missile so as to make it capable of attacking a target on land. And the target is obviously India.
The P-3C is a maritime surveillance aircraft. The air craft has advanced anti-submarine warfare avionics including the IBM Proteus and an advanced acoustic processor
The daily reports that the Obama administration has lodged a protest with the Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani in June 2009.
Indian External Affairs Minister Mr. S. M. Krishna had told the Americans that giving arms to Pakistan without verifying how Pakistan was using them would be counter productive. India knows that Pakistani’s are using the American weapons meant to use against the terrorist groups inside that country, are being used against India for some time. India had also conveyed its concerns to the American administration. But the American administration obsessed as it is with the war on terror is yet to address the Indian concerns.
According to The New York Times, Pakistan has denied the American charge and claimed that it developed the missiles on its own.
Meanwhile Mr. Hans M. Kristensena, top American scientist, has said, citing the Nuclear Notebook, that Pakistan has been developing nuclear arms at a fast pace. According to his report the number of nuclear war heads Pakistan has at present is somewhere around 70-90. According to Kristensen, Shaheen-II medium range ballistic missile would be operational quite soon. In addition to this Pakistan is also developing two types of cruise missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear devices. One of them, Babur is launched from the ground and the other named Ra-ad, is launched from air.
A chemical separation facility and two plutonium production reactors are also nearing completion. According to Kristensen Pakistan’s ability to make cruise missiles that can carry nuclear devices point to the fact that Pakistani designers and engineers have succeeded in making small and light plutonium warheads.
India should take note of all these developments and take precautionary measure so as not to be caught unawares. Instead of asking the Americans to keep an eye on the activities of Pakistan, and asking them to declare Pakistan as a rouge country or a failed state we must prepare ourselves to meet all eventualities. We have fought Pakistan three times and beaten them. Now they know well that it is not that easy to beat India in a war. The recent Kargil war must have driven this point again. All the same we cannot be complacent about the threats from Pakistan as long as it sees India as its enemy.
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