Washington (PTI): Ahead of the new Pakistan Prime Minister's visit to the US, the Bush Administration has announced plans to divert nearly USD 230 million in counter-terror aid to Islamabad for upgrading the country's aging fleet of F-16s, drawing flak from the lawmakers.

In a notification to Congress, the State Department said that upgrading the avionics, electronics and radar systems of Pakistan's older F-16s would "increase the survivability of the aircraft in a hostile environment" and make the "F-16s a more valuable counter-terrorism asset."

Congressional approval is required for the shifting of the funding and the first impression is that this idea is unlikely to go over well in Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees of the House of Representatives and in the Senate.