Revisit F-16 deal to strengthen Pak-US ties, says Jilani

Envoy says Islamabad looking forward to working closely with the new president

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States has suggested that the new government in Washington can strengthen counter-terror cooperation with Islamabad by revisiting the sale of F-16 fighter jets and resolving issues with the Coalition Support Fund (CSF).

“Cooperation between Pakistan and the US in the fight against terrorism will be further strengthened by revisiting the sale of F-16s and CSF issues,” Jalil Abbas Jilani told American print and electronic media correspondents at a reception for them at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington. He said Pakistan looks forward to closely working with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.



In April last year, US lawmakers blocked a move by the Obama administration to subsidise Pakistan’s purchase of eight F-16 fighter jets after accusing Islamabad of ‘not doing enough’ to crack down on militants.



Speaking to US media representatives, Jilani said Pakistan and the US had a historic relationship which spanned over seven decades. He said the interests of both countries converged on several issues and that this would help strengthen their bilateral ties in the future.



Replying to a question, the ambassador said Pakistan had launched a successful campaign to tackle militancy and terror incidents in the country had subsequently gone down by 70%. In response to another question, he said while there is no organised IS presence in Pakistan, Islamabad is concerned about the ultra-radical Middle Eastern group’s growing influence in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Talking about Pakistan’s economy, he said the country’s stock market had surpassed all others in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2017.