US-LD HARPOON 2 LAST

The New York Times 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 daily 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 USD 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 paper, 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.
PTI