F-16 fleet assistance package to Pakistan not designed as message to India: Pentagon official
India has voiced its disapproval of the US's plan to give Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet force a support package.
FollowThe United States has said the decision to give Pakistan's F-16 aircraft a USD 450 million maintenance package is not intended to send a message to India. Rather, it is connected to Washington's defence collaboration with Islamabad, which is primarily focused on counterterrorism and nuclear security.
On September 8, the Biden administration decided to reverse the Trump administration's decision to suspend military assistance to Islamabad for providing safe havens for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network by approving a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme for Pakistan.
India has voiced its disapproval of the US's plan to give Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet force a support package.
Also read:Â India tells US: Concerned over $450 million in F-16 fighter support to Pakistan
The State Department approved a potential foreign military sale for sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 450 million in a notification to the US Congress, stating that this will maintain Islamabad's capacity to address present and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet.
On Thursday, Dr Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, said that the recent US action with Pakistan on F-16 is not designed as a message to India as it relates to its relationship with Russia.Â
"The decision inside the US government around the F-16 issue was made predicated on US interests associated with our defence partnership with Pakistan which is primarily focused on counterterrorism and nuclear security and as the (Defence) Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear to (Defence) Minister Rajnath Singh during their call last week, this case did not include any upgrades or munitions," he told a group of reporters on Thursday and think-tank experts during a virtual round table.Â
On September 14, Singh conveyed to US Defence Secretary Austin, India's concerns over Washington's decision to provide a sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet fleet.Â
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"We have been engaging with our Indian counterparts, both in advance of the announcement to preview it and during my visit with Assistant Secretary (Donald) Lu in Delhi as well. So we thought it was quite important to be as transparent as we could with Indian counterparts both in advance and during that decision and it provided a good opportunity to have a healthy exchange on both the US rationale for its limited security partnership with Pakistan as well as a good opportunity to hear India's concerns about that," Ratner said.
(With inputs from PTI)
