India's hostility towards Pakistan is due to US military, political support, claims ex-Pak envoy

To drive home his point he referred to a recent remark by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter who reportedly said that he is a “Friend of India”.

New Delhi: In an opinion piece in Dawn on Sunday, former Pakistani envoy to the United Nations Munir Akram raised concerns over the collaborations between India and the United States and said that the Indo-American alliance “has obvious and significant negative implications for Pakistan’s security”.

To drive home his point he referred to a recent remark by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter who reportedly said in a meeting with senior Pakistani military officials that he is a “Friend of India”.

The former diplomat termed the statement as superfluous and said that the US defence secretary's “closeness to the Indians is all too evident”.

In the article, he appears to be perturbed over the “vast scope and depth of the planned Indo-US military relationship”.

India and the US have recently agreed on co-production of advanced defence instruments, including collaboration on advanced jet engines and aircraft carrier technologies.

He attributed this fresh thaw in the Indo-US relation to India's endorsment of the US stand on the South China Sea islands dispute with China -- freedom of navigation and over-flight throughout the South China Sea region.

The article claimed that the US has opened “all military and technology doors to India, and encouraged Israel and other allies to do so as well”.

It further noted that India has been the world’s largest arms importer For the past eight years.

The former diplomat alleged that the US's military and political support to India has encouraged New Delhi “in its bellicose behaviour towards Pakistan”.

He warned that Pakistan faces national security risk due to the US' support to India, and maintained that Washington has “imposed severe discriminatory restraints on Pakistan’s acquisition of advanced technologies”.

The US policy “opposes Pakistan’s defensive responses to India’s military build-up and “Pressure has also even been exerted on China not to transfer advanced weaponry to Pakistan”.

As a recourse to the current Pakistani quagmire situation, the opinion piece suggested that “Unless this dynamic is changed, Pakistan’s capabilities for conventional defence and nuclear deterrence against India could be significantly eroded”.