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Pakistan is building missile-launch sites near its border with India and is moving missiles toward the area, The Washington Times reported Monday, citing US intelligence officials and intelligence reports. The sites consist of concrete areas where mobile missile launchers capable of firing short-range M-11 or Haft missiles will be stationed, the report said. "US intelligence agencies have learned that five new missile-launch sites are being built in eastern Pakistan and have identified the exact location of three of the new sites," the Times article said. A convoy of 95 trucks was seen near a missile-storage facility south of Islamabad and is believed to be carrying missiles toward the border with India, officials told the paper, speaking on condition of anonymity. Pakistan has several types of missile systems "capable of striking a large number of targets throughout most of India," according to intelligence reports cited by the Times. These include medium-range Ghauri missiles "acquired from North Korea," Shaheen I short-range missiles and longer-range Shaheen II missiles, which are still in development, the reports said. India and Pakistan each have close to a million soldiers massed on their common border, a month after an attack on India's parliament which New Delhi blames on Pakistan-based militants backed by government intelligence services. The nuclear-armed rivals agreed in telephone calls Sunday with US President George W. Bush, however, to reduce mounting tensions, the White House said. Secretary of State Colin Powell departs for the region Tuesday in an effort to help defuse the situation, which top US senators have characterized as "incredibly dangerous" and "literally explosive." All rights reserved. © 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
India: War May Be On The Horizon
New Delhi (AFP) Jan 11, 2002India's army chief Friday warned Pakistan against any nuclear strike, vowing maximum retaliation against any such move by Islamabad. "The perpetrator of that particular outrage shall be punished, shall be punished so severely that the continuation of any form of fray will be doubtful," General S. Padmanabhan told reporters. "We are ready for a second strike," he said. "Take it from me that we have enough." He noted that Pakistan had avoided following India which has pledged not to be the first to launch a nuclear strike. |
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