The Hindu : Front Page : U.S. go ahead for F-16 sale to Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 26, 2005

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U.S. go ahead for F-16 sale to Pakistan

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MARCH 25. The Bush administration has announced that it is going ahead with the sale of F-16 jetfighters to Pakistan and maintained that the sale would not affect the "overall" balance of power in South Asia. This is seen as a major policy shift and rewarding a key ally in the war on terror.

"Recently, the September 11 Commission recommended that the United States make a long-term commitment to Pakistan. In this context, we have begun our five year $3-billion assistance programme ... and have agreed to sell F-16 aircraft," a U.S. administration official was today quoted in an agency report. "The sale of F-16s will not change the overall balance of military power in the region and are vital to Pakistan's security as President Musharraf prosecutes the war on terror," the official said.

A senior official has also said that "President Musharraf made a commitment to stand with the United States. This is a long-standing request."

The U.S. President, George W. Bush, spoke to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, this morning from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, to inform him of the decision to go ahead with the planned sale of the F-16s to Pakistan.

It is not clear how many planes will be sold to Pakistan with one official putting the number at 24 but, at the same time, making the point that this figure could change. It has also been stressed that no final decision has been made on any similar sale of F-16s to India but that Washington will respond "positively" to Indian tender bids for the multi-role combat aircraft.

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