Pentagon: Pakistan terror aid diverted

WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- Pakistan diverted U.S. aid meant for fighting Taliban terrorists to bolster its conventional warfare capabilities against India, documents indicate.

U.S. Defense Department documents accessed by the Press Trust of India reveal Islamabad secretly diverted a substantial portion of nearly $7 billion in foreign military financing and arms sales from the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush to beef up its armed forces along the Indian border instead of fighting terrorists.

PTI quoted the Pentagon documents as saying that a major portion of post-Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. military aid meant to counter advances made by the Taliban and al-Qaida in Pakistan's northwest was instead used to buy and refurbish eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, worth $474 million.

Islamabad also placed orders for 5,250 TOW anti-armor missiles worth $186 million with the aid, the news agency said, adding that 2,007 of missiles have already been delivered and the rest are on the way.