ISLAMABAD, 27 March 2005 — Pakistan has welcomed the US decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to the Islamic nation, saying the move indicated America’s level of commitment to its key ally in the war against terrorism. It would also help boosting image of the United State in the country.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz praised Washington yesterday for making a long-awaited decision to sell the warplanes to Pakistan, and insisted that Islamabad has no aggressive designs against its neighbors.
“It is a good and very important decision. We welcome it,” Aziz said in an address at a graduation parade for Pakistan Air Force cadets near Risalpur, a garrison town in northwestern Pakistan. Aziz said a strong and professional air force was vital in shaping the outcome of a conflict.
Aziz’s comments came a day after a US official said the US has agreed to sell F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan, a move seen as rewarding Pakistan for its support of the US war on terror.
The decision perturbed Islamabad’s rival, India, whose Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed “great disappointment” to President George W. Bush in a phone call, according to Manmohan’s spokesman.
Without naming India, Aziz yesterday said, “Pakistan does not have any aggressive designs against any country, but will continue to maintain minimum levels of deterrence needed to defend our homeland,” the official Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted him as saying. “It is a red-letter day for the Pakistan Air Force,” he added.
He said “Pakistan believes in peace and wishes to live in harmony with its neighbors.”
Pakistan signed a deal with Washington to buy the F-16 fighter jets in late 1988, but the agreement was scrapped in the 1990s when the US government imposed sanctions on Islamabad over its nuclear weapons program.
Although Washington lifted the sanctions because of Islamabad’s support for the US war on terror, the sale of the F-16s remained on hold.
Also yesterday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the Bush administration had notified the US Congress on Friday of its decision to sell F-16s to Pakistan.
“This is a welcome development. The sale of F-16s to Pakistan would help meet some of Pakistan’s legitimate defense needs,” a ministry statement said, adding “the decision is reflective of the US commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation and building a long-term strategic relationship with Pakistan.”
It said the specifics of the sale of the warplanes would be worked out by the governments of the two countries.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who is also the government spokesman, said “this is a good gesture by the United States.”
“We welcome it. This was our defense requirement. This shows the good relations between Pakistan and the United States,” Ahmed told The Associated Press in comments after the US announcement in Washington.
Sheikh Rashid scoffed at India’s concern over the F-16’s sale to Pakistan.
“This is sad,” Sheikh Rashid told state-run Pakistan Television about India’s reaction over Pakistan getting the jets. “They (F-16s) are very important for our conventional defense.”
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947. Last year, the two nations began a peace process to resolve all issues, including a territorial dispute over Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided between the two and claimed by both.
