The US Department of Defence notified the Congress on November 15 of its intention to sell Islamabad a foreign military sales package worth more than 1.2 billion dollars.
PAF also looked forward to strengthen its reconnaissance and surveillance capability, strike power, detection of enemy aircraft, platform to combat and weapons for defence.
Having lost out on the multi-billion Indian Air Force contract, the Pentagon said American fighter jets -- F16 and F18 -- would have provided India unbeatable platforms with proven technologies at a competitive price.
Indian policymakers must realise that in buying small quantities of equipment, it becomes hard to start manufacturing them in India, explains Ajai Shukla.
The IAF can take on any one as it has world-class aircraft like the Sukhoi-30 MKIs, Mirages and Jaguars, a senior IAF official said.
The Bush Administration recently approved the sale of 18 new F-16 fighter jets with an option of an additional 18 to Islamabad as part of a $ five-billion-dollar deal.\n\n
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Camp, said, "We are not saying that the F-16s have only a counter-terrorism use. They are obviously a part of Pakistan's national defence and they always have been, and what we have said very confidently is that the sale of these F-16s is not going to upset the regional balance."
Ackerman and many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill have for long questioned the rationale of giving the F-16s to Pakistan as a part of the war on terror. The congressmen now want a comprehensive statement from senior officials about the complete scope of the F-16 programme with Pakistan that include the number of planes, updates made to existing planes, proposed armaments, schedule of delivery and source of payment.
The decision to delay the F-16 deal was finalised at a meeting between Ambassador Jehangir Karamat and US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca on Friday
The issue figured in the talks between External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visited India recently.
The official added that this could be shelved unless Pakistan provides the US government with access to renegade nuclear scientist A Q Khan.
The United States has put up stiff conditions on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, stipulating that they cannot be used against India in any future conflict. Pakistan is slated to receive 18 F-16s from the US by the end of this month.US Air Force engineers would accompany the F-16s and would supervise not only the airbase but also the operations to be carried out by the Pakistan Air Force against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, The Nation reports.
A top United States lawmaker has introduced a "joint resolution" in the House of Representatives to express Congress's disapproval over an arms deal with Pakistan which includes the sale of eight nuclear-capable F-16 fighter jets to the latter.
F-16 will be there, (Swedish) Grippen, Mirage 2000 and MiG 29 will be there.
Asserting that the sale of F-16 to Pakistan is a sign of the burgeoning relationship between the two countries, the Pentagon on Friday said that another $600 million is en route to Islamabad in the next few weeks.At the same time, the Pentagon official observed that sending more United States personnel to the country and procuring visas for them continue to be a major bottleneck.The United States is sending nearly 50 additional personnel to Pakistan in June.
'Since neither al Qaeda nor the remnants of the Taliban have submarines, armoured fighting vehicles or airplanes, we are gravely concerned that the systems being provided to Pakistan are intended to be used against Indian capabilities.'
Several reports in the media had said the US will make a formal announcement during President Pervez Musharraf's visit to the US beginning June 24.
As India expressed 'displeasure and disappointment" over the United States's decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said that the she will patch things up with India soon on the issue.
The 12-day exercise begins on November 12.
Indo-US think tank worried over F-16 sales to Pak
A high-level US defence team led by Lieutenant General Jeffrey B Kohler held marathon discussions on Thursday with top Indian Air Force officials and submitted detailed technical parameters.
Pointing to The Washington Post piece on Monday about the dramatic expansion in Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, Ackerman said the import of the story is "truly alarming" in the context of a pending sale by US of F-16 fighter-bombers.
"I am concerned that this decision by the Bush administration, coupled with their continued policy of increased military assistance for Pakistan, will mean a step backward in the US-India relations," Pallone said.
The Congressional Research Service stipulated three conditions: cooperation on Khan's network, commitment to bar nuclear tests and transfers and restraint on nuclear and missile competition with India.
Statements of Assistant Secretary of State For South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A Boucher, Congressmen Tom Lantos and Gary Ackerman on F-16 sale to Pak.
US Ambassador David C Mulford said India had no cause to worry about imbalance since it was getting civil nuclear cooperation, a one-time, very special exception for any country.
The Pentagon has awarded Bell Helicopter a contract to manufacture and deliver the choppers to Pakistan under its foreign military sales funds.
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
The DGCA official who wrongly assigned the code of Antonov AN-32 -- an aircraft used by the IAF -- to the SpiceJet aircraft has been suspended, report Arindam Majumder and Aneesh Phadnis.
Pakistan is scheduled to get 18 of the Block 52 F-16s, Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigate by fall and is expected to receive Shadow Drones within a year, a Pentagon official has said.
United States intelligence agencies have attempted to interview Khan about his activities but Musharraf, who pardoned Khan in 2004 and put him under house arrest, has refused to allow the US access to him.
Ranneeti: Balakot And Beyond veers between intriguing and boring, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Recent disclosures allege large scale corruption, nepotism and kickbacks by Pakistan air chief Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhuin housing land deals in Islamabad and in buying of new aircraft, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The both governments recognise that a ground invasion is very likely and not telling Israel not to launch one at all, but rather hold off to try and see if additional diplomatic efforts can succeed.
The Tridents squadron which is now also known as the "Defender of the North" has replaced the MiG-21 squadron at the Srinagar air base which has traditionally been responsible for taking care of the threat from Pakistan.
China on Monday dismissed the existence of a 'median line' in the volatile Taiwan Strait after Taiwan's defence ministry said it detected a record 103 Chinese warplanes flying around the self-ruled island in a 24-hour period.
In a press briefing, Air Force General Glen VanHerck, who safeguards United States airspace as head of North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) and Northern Command, said, "We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason."
The United States on Sunday shot down another unidentified airborne object in its airspace, a day after it brought down a similar 'cylindrical' object over Canada.
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