Citing Alliance, U.S. OKs F-16s to Pakistan
WASHINGTON — In a major policy shift, the United States announced Friday it would sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, rewarding an ally but angering its neighbor and rival, India.
Citing their gratitude for Pakistan's help against Islamic militants, U.S. officials said they would authorize the sale of at least 24 of the fighters in a package of aircraft and maintenance services worth about $1.5 billion. President Bush telephoned Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, to explain the move, regarding which Singh voiced "great disappointment," an Indian government spokesman said.
The United States agreed to allow the sale of 40 F-16s to Pakistan in the 1980s, but the deal was canceled in 1990 as Washington imposed sanctions against Islamabad for its nuclear arms development program. The offer of a new deal is another sign that Washington now accepts Pakistan's possession of the bomb.
Pakistan's information minister, Sheik Rashid Ahmed, said the decision was "a good gesture" that demonstrated "relations are growing stronger."
"This will fulfill our defense requirements," he said. "We had been lagging behind [India] in conventional weapons. This will improve the situation."
U.S. officials in Washington insisted that the sale would not upset the balance of military power between the nuclear-armed neighbors. They said India would have a chance to bid for U.S. fighters in a purchase of 126 planes planned by the Indian defense ministry.
"We don't think this sale threatens to change the military balance in any material way," a senior administration official told reporters at the State Department. "It is in both India's interest and Pakistan's interests and in America's interest that Pakistan feel secure."
A State Department spokesman said the green light reflected U.S. gratitude for Pakistan's "invaluable support," adding that U.S. officials believed it would "encourage its continued participation in the going global war on terrorism."
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf "takes numerous risks prosecuting the war on terror," another U.S. official said.
In New Delhi, Sanjaya Baru, a spokesman for the Indian prime minister, said Singh believed that the decision "could have negative consequences for India's security environment."
U.S. officials tried to soften the impact of the move by declaring that the United States was committed to doing more for both countries.
