KARACHI, 12 October 2003 — Pakistan accused India yesterday of raising a threat to its security by agreeing to buy advanced Israeli airborne radar systems and said it would take steps to keep a balance between the two nuclear powers.

But Pakistan said it did not seek an arms race with its South Asian rival, which could use the new systems to look deep into its territory.

India and Israel signed their biggest arms deal on Friday, with New Delhi agreeing to buy strategic airborne radar systems it hopes will boost its military edge over rival Pakistan.

“Balance is absolutely essential for peace,” Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri told reporters in the port city of Karachi.

“Pakistan will take all possible measures to counter the threat posed by the advanced weapons acquired by India.” He gave no details. The Israeli-made Phalcon radar will be mounted on Russian IL-76 aircraft in a deal estimated to be more than $1 billion.

The Phalcon can pick up aircraft, including those flying at low altitude, hundreds of kilometers away in any weather, day or night. It can also intercept and decode radio transmissions, anticipating in many cases the weaponry an enemy might deploy.

It will put large parts of Pakistan under surveillance, including the volatile border in disputed Kashmir, which has been the focus of two out of three wars the countries have fought since independence from Britain in 1947. Kasuri said Pakistan had conveyed its deep concerns to leaders of the United States and several other countries. Islamabad has repeatedly expressed concern at growing India-Israel defense ties.

However, since April there has been a thaw in relations with both sides inching toward talks after reappointment of high commissioners and restoration of bus links severed when the two countries came close to war over Kashmir last year.

Musharraf, Putin to Meet

in Kuala Lumpur

President Pervez Musharraf will meet his Russian counterpart in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of next week’s summit of Islamic nations, Kasuri said yesterday.

“I had a detailed talk with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and both of us agreed that President (Vladimir) Putin and President Musharraf would meet in Kuala Lumpur” Kasuri told a briefing before his departure to attend the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Putin has been invited by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to the Oct. 16-17 summit.

“This meeting is not part of an international effort to challenge the United States’ unilateralism but the two leaders would mainly discuss the Iraq situation and its solution,” Kasuri said. President Musharraf is set to spearhead a campaign to introduce “enlightened moderation” to the Muslim world — an idea that is to be main theme in his address at the summit.

“President Musharraf would also highlight the difference between the so-called theory of clash of civilizations ... and pragmatic approach articulated by the president that envisaged a cooperation among civilizations,” Kasuri said.

Musharraf is leaving for the Malaysian capital on Wednesday to attend the summit.

Musharraf Rule Marked by Abuses: Human Rights Watch

President Pervez Musharraf’s four-year rule has led to serious human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said Friday in a critical assessment of the leader of one of the frontline US allies in the war against terrorism.

In an open letter to Musharraf to coincide with his seizing power in a bloodless coup Oct. 12, 1999, the New York-based rights monitor called on the president to return Pakistan to constitutional rule without delay.

The letter accused Pakistani military agencies of torturing and harassing political opponents, journalists and former government officials. It also highlighted a surge in religious extremism and sectarian killings that Human Rights Watch blamed in part on the Musharraf administration’s policy of marginalizing mainstream opposition political groups.