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Pakistan lashed out Wednesday at India's new deal with Russia to purchase nuclear-capable submarines and bombers, accusing it of "recklessly" amassing weapons and intimidating its neighbours.

"Fired by its ambition to attain great power status, India has chosen the reckless path of militarisation," foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said in a statement.

"It is amassing weapons and military hardware beyond its legitimate defence requirements to intimidate its neighbours."

India last week announced a deal with Russia to lease four Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bombers and two nuclear-propelled Akula class submarines, both of which can deliver nuclear warheads. New Delhi said the deal would be signed in March.

The package, which will include an old 44,500-tonne Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, is reported to be worth three billion dollars.

Neighbouring foes Pakistan and India both have air and ground delivery capability of their respective nuclear arsenals. The New Delhi-Moscow deal would put India ahead of Pakistan in sea delivery capability.

"The acquisitions would complete India's cherished nuclear triad," Pakistan's Khan said.

"It would also aggravate the existing imbalance in conventional forces and strategic weapons delivery systems in the region."

"This is an amazing choice for a nation that preaches non-violence and boasts the largest population of poor in the world."

New Delhi and Moscow have also agreed to jointly develop fifth generation fighter aircraft and produce a new long-range nuclear-capable cruise missile known as BrahMos, which can be fired from ships.

The procurement deal coincides with a concerted effort by Pakistan to woo Russia, India's largest military hardware supplier, after decades of cool relations stretching back to Islamabad's siding with Washington during the Cold War.

President Pervez Musharraf will make his maiden visit to Moscow next month, Foreign Secretary Riaz Kokhar is currently in Russia, bilateral defence talks were held in Moscow recently, and Pakistan last week declared "a new stage" in relations with Russia.

Defence analysts say Pakistan has stronger missile delivery capability than India, while India is understood to possess up to three times more nuclear warheads than Pakistan.

Jane's Defence Weekly estimates India has 100 to 150 nuclear warheads and that Pakistan possesses 25 to 50 nuclear warheads.

India early this month announced a nuclear command and control structure headed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and test-fired three missiles including a medium range ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead.

The nuclear foes have been sabre-rattling since President Pervez Musharraf revealed on December 30 that he issued threats to India of "unconventional" war during last year's 10-month military stand-off.

Pervez Hoodbhoy, a nuclear physics professor at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, saw India's purchases as a "clear" effort to build a second strike capability.

"They are clearly going in for second strike now, and that I think is an admission of the fact that they will not be able to stop a first strike," Hoodbhoy told AFP.

"It's virtually impossible given the geography, you just lob a missile over and it takes a few minutes so there's nothing you can do to stop it. That's why they're going for submarines."

Missile flight times between Pakistan and India are three to five minutes.

India, unlike Pakistan, has a 'no first use' policy, although it was amended in January to include chemical and biological weapons attacks as triggers for nuclear retaliation. 

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