F-16s on their way to Pak airspace

Washington: The Bush administration has notified the US Congress about the proposed sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, including that of 18 newer versions, which could make Washington coffers richer by five billion dollars if the deal is done.

The package sent to Congress include the approval of sale of 18 new fighter jets with an option for Pakistan to buy another 18.

An offer to upgrade its existing fleet of 34 old-model F-16s, manufactured by US aerospace company Lockheed Martin was also part of the deal.

Pakistan will also have the option to buy 26 used aircraft from US inventories. The deal also envisages a munitons package and logistic support.

The Congress has now 30 days to review the offer to Pakistan but unless it passed the legislation to block the deal, it would go ahead.

"We formally notified to the Congress about our intent to sell F-16 aircraft to Pakistan," a senior US State Department official said.

"This sale is part of a larger effort to broaden our strategic partnership with Pakistan and advance our national security and foreign policy interests in South Asia," the official added. "Pakistan is a long-term partner and major non -NATO ally of the United States."

The notification coincides with the passage of bill seeking the implementation of Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, which stipulates the sharing of civilian nuclear technology and know-how with India, in two key congressional panels.

The US has earlier rejected Pakistan's claim for such a deal.

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The senior official has said that the nuclear deal and the F-16 issue were unrelated and it will not upset the military balance with India.

"We believe in treating each country individually...Each faces defence issues different from the other," the official said.

The official also dismissed suggestions that the sale would contribute to arms race saying that a dialogue with two countries have reduced tension in the subcontinent and provided greater stability in the region.

Pakistan has acquired F-16 aircraft in the mid 1980s and had contracted to buy about two dozen more, but it was blocked by a 1989 Congressional ban on arms transfers because of Islamabad's "covert" nuclear weapons programme.

The US has first announced its intention to sell F-16s to Pakistan in March last year in the backdrop of its increasing cooperation in the war against terror after 9/11.

Pakistan could have added the aircraft to its arsenal earlier but the devastating earthquake last year prompted the government to delay the deal for sometime so that it could mobilise all its resources for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the areas destroyed in the calamity.

The F-16, which was introduced into the US military in 1979, has been one of the mainstays of its Air Force.