Pakistan will get F-16s from other countries if funding not arranged, Aziz tells US

US says Pakistan should pay if it wants F-16 deal to go through


Kamran Yousaf May 03, 2016
A file photo of PM's adviser of National Security Sartaj Aziz. PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s senior aide Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday cautioned US that Pakistan will purchase F-16s from other countries if it does not arrange funding.

“Pakistan will buy F-16s from some other country if funding [from US] is not arranged,” Aziz informed. His statement comes hours after US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said Pakistan should pay if it wants F-16 deal to go through.

Aziz stressed the importance of F-16 jets in the fight against terrorism and said they were pivotal to the national defence of Pakistan.

US administration supports F-16s for Pakistan, says official

The US State Department on Monday said it has asked Pakistan to fund the whole purchase of F-16 jet fighters on its own. “Given congressional objections, we have told the Pakistanis that they should put forward national funds for that purpose,” US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said during his weekly press briefing.

“As a matter of longstanding principle, the Department of State opposes conditions to the release of appropriated foreign assistance funds. We believe that such conditions limit the president and the secretary’s ability to conduct foreign policy in the best interest of the United States,” he added.

Previously, Islamabad was supposed to pay only $270 million while the Barack Obama-led administration was to pay $430 million in subsidy through the US foreign military financing budget for the fighter jets.

US lawmakers block subsidy for F-16 deal

However, during a congressional hearing on Wednesday, US lawmakers made it clear that they would not allow the Obama administration to use US funds for the deal.

The decision to stop the subsidy came after the hearing of a sub-committee on Asia and Pacific of the US Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs last week where lawmakers accused Pakistan of not doing enough to fight militants and expressed concerns that the jets could be used against India while also raising objections to using American taxpayers’ money to fund the sale.

COMMENTS (40)

roma | 7 years ago | Reply What the great man Sir Sartaj Ali j-ji means is that "Pakistan will be equally well-off looking for other alternatives" ...instead of saying that they will get the F16 from other sources .....the state of affairs in Pak has reached such a low level that even their foreign minister who should be able to speak like a diplomat cant express himself correctly , so what about lower levels ?
globalobserver | 7 years ago | Reply @BruteForce: "Pakistan doesn’t have the technical know-how or the jugaad mentality coupled with hard work to get around it." Not true and it is not that simple. There is a very good reason why Pakistan constantly lusts after F-16's. Pakistan has figured out a way to strengthen the air-frame of the F-16's to carry bulky nuclear weapons. Despite propaganda, Pakistan hasn't managed to reduce the weight of strategic nuclear weapons yet. The range of Pak missiles get very limited when they carry these bulky nuke warheads. The only reliable delivery method for these still crude nukes is the modified F'16's. The cost of a single-shot long range missile is prohibitive.
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