WASHINGTON: Top US Congressmen have shown concerns over Obama administration's decision to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, and have urged the government to review its decision.
“Many members of Congress, including me, seriously question the judgment and timing of such a sale. Additionally, Indo-Pak tensions remain elevated and some question whether the F-16s could ultimately be used against India or other regional powers, rather than the terrorists as Pakistan has asserted,” Congressman Matt Salmon said during a Congressional hearing. He found support from several other lawmakers during the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan convened by the Subcommittee on Asia and Pacific of the House Foreign Affairs Committee wherein the Obama Administration was represented by the Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson.
Congressman Brad Sherman said, “We've got to be concerned what military assistance and whether the F-16s constitute the least expensive, most efficient way for the Pakistani air force to go after the terrorists and the least disruptive weapon system to the balance of power between India and Pakistan. We need to offer to Pakistan those weapon systems well-crafted to go after terrorists and not crafter for a war with India.”
The Senate has currently put a hold on the decision to give eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan at an estimated cost of $700 million. “Despite giving Pakistan enormous amounts of counter-terror assistance over the years, over $25 billion since 9/11, terrorist organisations continue to operate with impunity in Pakistan. Pakistan has used terror as a tool of statecraft and terrorist proxy group, for the Pakistani military have carried out fatal attacks inside India,” Salmon said. Subcommitee chairperson Ileana Rose-Lehtinen shared her concerns over the sale. “I think that we need to leverage our military sales to Pakistan in order to get some more cooperation within the region,” she said.
Olson defended the move saying this is in the best interest of the United States. “The administration is supportive of the F-16 sale to Pakistan. This is been developed between our military coordinating groups over the course of time that is consistent with our overall program of support for the Pakistani military, which is based on counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism. The Pakistanis have developed a precision strike capability that they use in the F-16s they have right now to take our targets. These are principally the Pakistani Taliban, but we think that that is a good thing. The Pakistani Taliban has been involved in attacks against Americans at Chapman in Afghanistan in 2009, and, indeed, in supporting the Times Square bomber.”
