Won’t fund F-16s for us? Will get them from elsewhere, Pak tells US
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Tuesday it will acquire F-16 fighter jets from elsewhere if the US doesn’t arrange funding for the sale.
The statement was made by Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister’s adviser on foreign affairs, after the US confirmed on Monday that it can’t subsidize the purchase.
The US stand practically kills the deal as Pakistan may find it difficult to buy the planes at a price that is two-and-half times more than previously agreed.
Aziz said Pakistan valued the F-16s for their effectiveness, but added that it could just as well use JF-17 Thunder jets in its “anti-terrorism campaign”, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
The JF-17 Thunder fighter jet has been jointly developed by China’s Aviation Industry Corporation of China and its Pakistani partner, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. The JF-17 is reportedly going to become the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
The JF-17 can reportedly be used for aerial reconnaissance, ground attack and aircraft interception. It can deploy diverse ordnance, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, and a 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel autocannon, reports say.
The PAF inducted its first JF-17 squadron in February 2010 and as of December 2015, 49 JF-17 Thunder Aircraft were in service with 50 additional airframes ordered, of which 17 have been delivered.
Last Friday, a State Department official told Dawn that Congress had placed a hold on the deal, forbidding the administration from using US funds for enabling Pakistan to buy the warplanes.
The National Security Advisors (NSAs) of India and Pakistan have spoken over the phone and agreed to reduce tensions on Read more
Amid a war of words over surgical strikes across the Line of Control and the arrest of a soldier in Read more
