Saturday, November 20, 2004
US ready with $ 1.2 billion arms package for Pakistan
S Rajagopalan Washington, November 18
The United States is gearing up to offer Pakistan a $ 1.2 billion arms package, the first major sale of military hardware since Washington lifted sanctions and named Islamabad as a major non-NATO ally.
Three separate deals have been finalised and the Pentagon has sent the proposals to the US Congress for clearance.
The package includes sale of eight P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft (valued at $ 970 million), six PHALANX close-in weapon systems and upgrades ($ 155 million) and an ammunition complement of 2,000 TOW-2A missiles and 14 TOW-2A Fly-to-Buy missiles ($ 82 million).
Pakistan, however, has not yet succeeded in getting the nod for the big ticket item (the F-16 fighter planes) that it has been seeking for long. Official sources are emphatic that no decision has been taken at any level of the US government to provide F-16s to Pakistan.
Lawmakers have 30 days to block or raise objections to the three sale proposals forwarded on Tuesday. But defence and congressional circles do not anticipate any serious obstruction to the move, which is being seen as a reward for Pakistan's help in the US's war on terror.
Each of the three notifications to the Congress also asserts that the sale "will not affect the basic military balance in the region".
The Pentagon has sought to make out the case that the sale will contribute to US foreign policy and national security "by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be a key ally in the global war on terrorism".
Pakistan, according to a statement by Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency, intends to use the P-3Cs, built by Lockheed Martin, for maritime and border surveillance, and "increase its ability to support the US's Operation Enduring Freedom".
"The command-and-control capabilities of these aircraft will improve Pakistan's ability to restrict the littoral movement of terrorists along Pakistan's southern border and ensure Pakistan's overall ability to maintain integrity of their borders," it says.
The PHALANX weapon systems, manufactured by Raytheon, will provide Pakistani ships with "a highly lethal defence capability against inbound aircraft, missiles and fast moving surface craft".
As for the TOW missiles, also made by Raytheon, the Pentagon says this sale, too, will enable Pakistan to support US operations against terrorist activity along its porous borders.
Analysts believe that acquisition of US arms may have become considerably easy for Islamabad after Washington named it a major non-NATO ally last March.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.