ISLAMABAD: The United States has formally notified the intended sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, officials said Sunday.
Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that the notification is part of internal process of the US government, Radio Pakistan reported.
He said the process entails Congress response in 30 days. The spokesperson said F-16s are meant for enhancing Pakistan’s precision strike capability in fight against terrorism. He said terrorism is a global challenge facing all the countries and Pakistan and the United States are cooperating in this regard.
Earlier, the US government formally published federal notification for the sale of eight F16 fighter jets to Pakistan, thus glossing over concerns by India and some lawmakers in the Washington. “This proposed sale contributes to US goals by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner in South Asia,” said the notification, which was published along with a copy of the February 11 letter the Defense Security Cooperation Agency wrote to the House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan.
“The proposed sale improves Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future security threats from terrorists.”
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, said it had notified lawmakers about the possible deal.
The agency said the F-16s would allow Pakistan’s Air Force to operate in all-weather environments and at night while improving its self-defense capability and bolstering its ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.
Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sale, although such action is rare since deals are well-vetted before any formal notification.
India had expressed its reservation with the US decision. “We disagree with their rationale that such transfers of arms help combat terrorism,” Vikas Swarup, a spokesman for India’s Foreign Ministry, said on Twitter.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker notified the Obama administration that he would not approve using US funds to pay for the planes through the foreign military financing (FMF) program. That means Pakistan must fund the purchase itself, instead of relying on US funds to cover about 46 percent of the cost.
Corker told Secretary of State John Kerry in a letter that he was concerned about Pakistan’s ties to the Haqqani network, a militant group that US officials have said is behind attacks in Afghanistan.
