American F-16 sale hit by numerous roadblocks
India can derive some satisfaction from the United States' refusal to fund Pakistan's proposed acquisition of eight F-16 fighter aircraft and insistence that Islamabad pay from its pocket for the deal. New Delhi had registered its strong objection when the Obama Administration had declared its decision to sell the aircraft to Pakistan, saying the planes could be used against India in a conflict and not necessarily for Islamabad's stated purpose of combating terrorism. New Delhi had gone to the extent of summoning US Ambassador to India Richard Verma to present its opposition. And yet, the US administration seemed to have made up its mind. However, other subsequent developments put a spanner in the works. For one, the US Congress demonstrated unambiguous reluctance to clear the sale, reasoning, among other things, that Islamabad had a poor track record in being upfront in tackling the likes of Taliban, and that its role in sheltering Osama bin laden remained suspect. The second is the election environment that has gripped that country. Presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have contributed to the mood against the sale of the aircraft. The Democratic hopeful said days ago that, while the US did not have concrete evidence about it, she believed the Pakistani authorities were aware of Osama bin laden's stay in his Pakistani hideout in Abbottabad. Trump too has repeatedly questioned Pakistan's commitment to combating terror. The general belief, therefore, in the US, appears to be that American citizens should not be expected to subsidise the military requirements of a country which has consistently double-crossed them in the fight against terrorism. The Obama Administration was thus compelled to clarify that there would be no sale of the F-16s under the Foreign Military Financing route. In effect, this means that Islamabad will have no access to nearly four billion dollars of FMF for the purchase of the aircraft and other military aircraft (the subsidy for the F-16s is around $400 million). This is a blow to Pakistan, which, already reeling under the pressure of repaying international borrowings of various kinds, has to struggle to find the money to finance the fighter jets' purchase.
Pakistan's response to the US's decision has been a mix of desperation and fake belligerence. It has threatened to go elsewhere to buy the aircraft, hoping that this will force a re-think on the part of Washington, DC, on both economic and strategic grounds. Islamabad is also likely to play the China card and even the Russia card, and it will hope that the US will not want Pakistan to approach them with the shopping list. Of course, if Pakistan puts all the money on the table, the deal can still go through — if only for Islamabad to spite India. It's for the US to realise that regardless of the funding aspect, the sale of high-end military hardware to Pakistan risks the security and stability of the region.