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India warns US against military aid to Pakistan
India's defence minister cautioned the United States on Friday against military supplies to rival Pakistan, saying the hardware could be diverted to target India.
The warning came after the US in March said it would deliver unarmed drones to Pakistan and less than a month after it unveiled plans to transfer 600 million dollars to Islamabad to pay for anti-militant operations.
A. K. Antony told reporters in New Delhi that India's concerns had been conveyed to Washington.
"Even though the US is giving equipment to Pakistan to fight against the Taliban, we feel there is every possibility of (Pakistan) diverting most of them to the Indian borders," Antony said.
We have already conveyed our concerns about transfer of equipment to Pakistan. We told the US that they have to be careful about that," the Indian defence minister added.
Pakistan, Washington's frontline ally in its battle against militancy, has domestically produced surveillance drones but it told the US in March that it wanted sophisticated US-made aircraft.
The Pentagon soon said it would deliver "within a year" around a dozen unarmed drones to Islamabad to aid its fight against Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in Pakistan.
Last month-end, the United States also said some 600 million dollars would be paid to Pakistan to reimburse it for the operations over the past year against Islamic extremists.
India's military insists that some of the US supplied hardware and funds have been siphoned away by Pakistan allegedly to buttress its arsenal against its estranged South Asian neighbour.
The two countries have fought three wars since their independence from the British in 1947 and came close to a fourth conflict in 2001 following the attack India's national parliament by gunmen which India blamed on Pakistan.
India warns US against military aid to Pakistan
India's defence minister cautioned the United States on Friday against military supplies to rival Pakistan, saying the hardware could be diverted to target India.
The warning came after the US in March said it would deliver unarmed drones to Pakistan and less than a month after it unveiled plans to transfer 600 million dollars to Islamabad to pay for anti-militant operations.
A. K. Antony told reporters in New Delhi that India's concerns had been conveyed to Washington.
"Even though the US is giving equipment to Pakistan to fight against the Taliban, we feel there is every possibility of (Pakistan) diverting most of them to the Indian borders," Antony said.
We have already conveyed our concerns about transfer of equipment to Pakistan. We told the US that they have to be careful about that," the Indian defence minister added.
Pakistan, Washington's frontline ally in its battle against militancy, has domestically produced surveillance drones but it told the US in March that it wanted sophisticated US-made aircraft.
The Pentagon soon said it would deliver "within a year" around a dozen unarmed drones to Islamabad to aid its fight against Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in Pakistan.
Last month-end, the United States also said some 600 million dollars would be paid to Pakistan to reimburse it for the operations over the past year against Islamic extremists.
India's military insists that some of the US supplied hardware and funds have been siphoned away by Pakistan allegedly to buttress its arsenal against its estranged South Asian neighbour.
The two countries have fought three wars since their independence from the British in 1947 and came close to a fourth conflict in 2001 following the attack India's national parliament by gunmen which India blamed on Pakistan.
India warns US against military aid to Pakistan