- Pakistan has failed to seal the $700 million deal to purchase eight F-16 fighter jets from the US, as the two countries are having a row over their financing, media reports say. The deal was to be partially financed though the US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, but the Congress disallowed subsidising the sale.
- The Pakistan government was required to provide a Letter of Acceptance for the purchase by 24 May but failed to do so, leading to the expiry of the offer. However, Pakistan’s Ambassador to US, Jalil Abbas Jilani has said a “dead-end has not been reached as yet.”
Pakistan decided not to fully fund the case with national funds, so the terms of sale have now expired.Diplomatic source quoted as saying to Dawn News
- The jets, “all-weather, non-daylight environments and self-defence/area suppression capability,” were required by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.
- Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said last week that Pakistan will explore other options to meet its defence needs if the deal for F-16s did not materialise with the US. Analysts believe Islamabad could consider Russian or Chinese fighters to meet its defence requirements.
(With inputs from PTI)
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