Pakistan hints at counter measures after US defence deals with India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has conveyed its strong reservations to the US for its deepening defence cooperation with India, viewing the development as a direct threat to the country's security interests. Official sources said that the US was informed through diplomatic channels that the transfer of advanced military hardware to India without taking into account Pakistan's legitimate concerns would undermine the strategic stability and conventional balance in the South Asian region, The Express Tribune reported. Pakistan told the US that India would feel emboldened with the acquisitions of the technologies, thus putting the country's national security interests in jeopardy, according to the sources familiar with the development.

Islamabad made it clear to Washington that such a cooperation between India and the US that harms its interests will leave Pakistan with no other option but to go for counter measures, The Express Tribune reported. General Electric and India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will make in India advanced fighter jet engines for the country's indigenous light combat aircraft. The US also agreed to set up a facility in India to produce battle-tested armed drones. For decades, Russia remained the major supplier of arms to India with 65 percent share only a few years ago. This indicates that the US is not only willing to sell arms to India but is not averse to the idea of transferring technology, something that has already raised alarm bells in Pakistan.

The US arms sale and transfer of technologies to India may be aimed at China but the development will certainly upset the military balance in South Asia, The Express Tribune reported. (IANS)

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