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Pak says it is ready to probe US charge of Harpoon missile fraud | Pakistan on Tuesday said that
it is ready to conduct any investigation on a charge made by the United States
with regard to the alleged modification of Harpoon missiles. Earlier, a New York
Times report had said that the Obama administration had lodged a diplomatic protest
with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani over the alleged alterations to
the anti-ship missiles Islamabad bought in the 1980s thus making them capable
of hitting land based targets and posing a threat to India. US Assistant Secretary
of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley said that the Obama Administration has
taken up the matter with Pakistan. "This is something that we take very seriously.
We have raised the issue with the Pakistani government. The (Pakistan) government
has responded with an agreement in principle for mutually agreed inspections,"
Crowley revealed. "In this particular case, we have some concerns. We shared them
with the government of Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has been responsive,"
he said, adding "We would wait and see if those inspections can address the concerns
that we have raised." The Indian Government too had raised concerns about this
development during Admiral Nirmal Verma's takeover as the new chief of naval staff
on Monday. His predecessor Admiral Sureesh Mehta had also raised similar concerns.
Pakistan till now has rejected Washington's claims and said the accusations were
part of a campaign to "malign it" and its armed forces. A statement from Pakistan's
Foreign Ministry said that it "categorically rejected" the article in The New
York Times and that there were no modifications made to the missiles under reference.
The US has sold a total of 165 Harpoon missiles to Pakistan. The missiles were
provided to Pakistan by the US administration as a defensive weapon in the Cold
War era.
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