Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Plagued with extreme weather and existential economic crisis, a near-bankrupt Pakistan is crying for international aid, but its ‘frenemy,’ the US, will rearm a crippled Islamabad with a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet “sustainment program.”
It is still unclear if the US has provided any aid to Pakistan to help it recover from the recent unprecedented floods. In a couple of weeks of downpour, the natural calamity submerged a third of the country, killed over 1,300 people, affected crops on 20 million hectares, and pushed into misery over 33 million people in a nation of 230 million. The media reported that some six million homeless people are facing starvation, and many do not even have dry land to bury their dead.
For weeks, Islamabad has been urging the world to donate money to the country, which has suffered huge losses of USD 20 billion. All it had got so far was meager aid from Saudi Arabia, China, and Turkey.
So, the US decided to help Pakistan!
Overturning Donald Trump’s suspension of a USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan, the Joe Biden Administration has, in the first major security help after four years, approved a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment program to the South Asian country to help it meet current and future counterterrorism threats, according to the media reports on Thursday.
Interestingly, Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had famously shot down Pakistan’s ‘formidable’ F-16 in a dogfight in 2019, using a MiG21 Bison he was flying. The fate of its so-called invincible F-16 aircraft had worried the US about its fighter aircraft’s own safety! India decorated the IAF fighter pilot for his feat with a Vir Chakra in 2021.
But the geopolitical situation has changed since. Now the US is trying to rebuild bridges with Pakistan to prevent it from falling into the Russian-Chinese camp.
In 2018, Trump suspended the security aid to Islamabad for failing to clamp down on the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network terror groups and dismantle their safe havens in the country.
The media reported that in a notification to the US Congress on Wednesday, the US State Department said it has approved a possible foreign military sale of the F-16 case for sustainment and related equipment, arguing that this will sustain Islamabad’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet.
The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification notifying the Congress of this possible sale on Wednesday.
“The United States Government has notified Congress of a proposed Foreign Military Sales case to sustain the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 program. Pakistan is an important counterterrorism partner, and as part of longstanding policy, the United States provides life cycle maintenance and sustainment packages for US-origin platforms,” a State Department spokesperson said.
“Pakistan’s F-16 program is an important part of the broader United States-Pakistan bilateral relationship. The proposed sale will sustain Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet. The F-16 fleet allows Pakistan to support counterterrorism operations, and we expect Pakistan to take sustained action against all terrorist groups,” the spokesperson said.
According to the Congressional notification, the proposed sale does not include any new capabilities, weapons, or munitions.
It said that Pakistan has requested to consolidate prior F-16 sustainment and support cases to support the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 fleet by reducing duplicate case activities and adding additional continued support elements.
The USD 450 million foreign military sales to Pakistan’s participation in the F-16 Aircraft Structural Integrity Programme includes electronic combat international security assistance program, international engine management program, engine component improvement program, and other technical coordination groups, aircraft and engine hardware and software modifications and support and aircraft and engine spare repair/return parts.
The Pentagon said this proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations.
“The proposed sale will continue the sustainment of Pakistan’s F-16 fleet, which greatly improves Pakistan’s ability to support counterterrorism operations through its robust air-to-ground capability. Pakistan will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces,” it said.
According to the Congressional notification, the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region—meaning it will not affect US-India relations.