WASHINGTON: The US government has decided to supply eight F-16 fighter jets and other assorted military equipment worth nearly $ 700 million to Pakistan, amidst protest from US lawmakers, regional experts and New Delhi. The move prompted India to call for US ambassador to the South Block to register its displeasure.
The requirement certification from the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, sent over to the Congress revealed the cache of military goods Washington intends to sell to the country. The DSCA said Pakistan has requested the sale of 8 F-16 Block 52 aircraft two C and six D, with the F100-PW-229 increased performance engine, and 14 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS). Other items include 8 ANAPG-68(V)9 radars, and 8 ALQ-211(V)9 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suites (AIDEWS).
The DSCA notification also said the proposed sale “contributes to US foreign policy objectives and national security goals by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner in South Asia... and enhance Pakistan's ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.” The deal has been openly questioned by experts who say it just encourages Islamabad's bad behaviour, including sponsorship of terrorism in the region. Some lawmakers said it encourages Pakistan to oppress its own people, citing the PAF's repeated bombings of the Baloch and Pashtun people.
“The idiocy stems from some within the National Security Council who stubbornly believe that a package of incentives will miraculously change Pakistan's behaviour. This is the definition of insanity: pursuing a course of action even when it fails to produce the desired results,” said Prof Sumit Ganguly, a South Asia scholar at Indiana University . “The intelligence community disagrees (with the proposed sale) but clearly those in the White House can overrule their analysis,” added Ganguly. “Many of the weapons Washington gives Islamabad are ill-suited to fighting terrorism, and continued transfers will do nothing to convince the Pakistani government to end its long-standing support for terrorist groups. In fact, US assistance gives Pakistan an incentive to foster a sense of insecurity concerning its nuclear arsenal and expanding ranks of jihadists,” Fair and Ganguly wrote in a recent co-authored commentary in Foreign Affairs.
