Indian summons US Ambassador over US decision to sell Pakistan F-16s

In an angry move, the government summoned US Ambassador Richard Varma to South Block to express its disappointment over the US government’s decision to sell Pakistan a new batch of F-16 Fighter jets in a deal worth $700 million.

The decision that was conveyed by the Pentagon to the US Congress on Thursday, and announced on Friday. Early on Saturday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement,

“We are disappointed at the decision of the Obama administration to notify the sale of F-16 aircrafts to Pakistan. We disagree with their rationale that such arms transfers help to combat terrorism. The record of the last many years in this regard speaks for itself.”

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar met with US Ambassador on Saturday morning at the Ministry of External Affairs to convey the message to Washington. The meeting lasted for 45 minutes.

While the Indian outrage is unlikely to bend the US decision, opposition to the F-16 deal that will add to the approximately 70 F-16s Pakistan’s airforce currently operates has also come from members of the US Congress. In a letter on February 9th Republican Senator Bob Corker who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Secretary of State John Kerry that the decision was “problematic”. Senator Corker and other lawmakers have vowed to block any move to subsidise the sale through the US’s counter-terror reserve funds as well.

“I do not want U.S. taxpayer dollars going to support these acquisitions,” Mr. Corker said in an interview to the Wall Street Journal this week, after returning from Afghanistan, adding “While we’re spending tremendous amounts of U.S. dollars and certainly tremendous sacrifice in our men and women in uniform and by other agencies, they are working simultaneously to destabilize Afghanistan.”

Between 2002 and 2014, the United States has sold around $5.4 billion worth of military equipment to Pakistan, according to the Congressional Research Service. In that same period the US Congress has okayed more than $20 billion in aid to Pakistan. The aid, half of which comes from the Coalition Support Fund, is meant to combat terrorism, but India has consistenly maintained that it is used to bolster Pakistan’s defence capabilities instead.

The US move is also a setback to India’s hopes that given the mounting evidence of Pakistan’s agencies continuing to support anti-India groups like the LeT, the US would rethink its defence sales to the country. In the past week, many in the government had hoped the details from the deposition in a Mumbai court from 26/11 planner and terrorist David Headley would further remind the US of the ISI’s links with these groups.

The decision to sell Pakistan eight F-16s has been in imminent for some months, as the US State department had first notified Congress in April 2015, and first came to light during PM Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Washington in October 2015.

In December, when the Obama administration issued a formal notification of “Foreign Military Financing”, several Congressmen had put up a stiff opposition to the deal. Friday’s notification means the US Congress has 30 days to veto the transfer of F-16, but that is a veto rarely used after the State department’s clearances. An official expressed surprise that India had not expressed its opposition publicly in the run-up to the deal. “However the sale will take some time to be concluded, it has only been notified thus far,” the official added.

Between 2002 and 2014, the United States has sold around $5.4 billion worth of military equipment to Pakistan, according to the Congressional Research Service.