Pakistan angered over India's weapons

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Islamabad went on the defensive against New Delhi following claims that Russia would lease a nuclear submarine to India in 2010.

Russian defense officials said Tuesday that Moscow would lease its multipurpose Nerpa nuclear submarine to India for the next 10 years.

Pakistan responded to the "massive" military buildup by its nuclear-armed foe with outrage, Pakistan's The News International reports.

"Such irresponsible statements reflected a hegemonic mindset, oblivious of dangerous implications of adventurism in a nuclearized context," that Pakistani military said in a statement.

Pakistan's National Command Authority, the body that oversees Pakistan's nuclear weapons, said that while Islamabad was not interested in a regional arms race, it would not make decisions that may compromise its national security.

"Massive inductions of advanced weapon systems including installation of ABMs (anti-ballistic missiles), build-up of nuclear arsenal and delivery systems ... tend to destabilize the regional balance," the NCA complained.

Relations between Pakistan and India are strained because of disputes over Kashmir, though the situation there is improving.

Both sides traded accusations on terrorist activity, however, in the wake of a November 2008 raid on high-profile targets in Mumbai launched by militants tied to the Pakistani guerrilla movement Lashkar-e-Toiba.