U.S. seeks Congressional nod for financing F-16 sale to Pakistan

After notifying Congress of its intention to sell eight F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan, the Obama administration has quickly moved for Congressional approval for financing the deal under the country’s Foreign Military Financing (FMF) scheme. U.S. administration proposes to pay the bulk of the $699 million cost of the deal while Pakistan is required to pay $200 million.

The administration’s request to Congress is for the first tranche of money, though the exact amount sought was not immediately known. While the notification itself does not need a positive approval from Congress, spending by the administration requires legislative approval, which is not going to come easily.

“While it is my intention at this time to clear the sale of eight F-16 aircraft to Pakistan, I do not plan to support the expenditure of the very limited FMF account to finance this deal, now or in the future,” Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, had said in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry last week.

Bipartisan resistance
Sources familiar with the developments pointed out that given the resistance being bipartisan — this is not one of the Republicans versus Democrats stalemates that routinely block Obama’s moves — the administration will find it tough to win a vote for financing the deal. Lockheed Martin, the manufacturers of F-16s, continues to lobby hard for the deal with the argument that it will create jobs in America.

“But the argument that American taxpayer cannot finance a deal for arming Pakistan has turned out to be lethal and has taken the administration by surprise,” a source said.

Meanwhile, an official of the U.S. State Department reiterated its commitment to sell F-16s to Pakistan. “We support the proposed sale of eight F-16s to Pakistan to assist Pakistan’s counter terrorism and counterinsurgency operations. Pakistan’s current F-16s have proven critical to the success of these operations to date… These operations reduce the ability of militants to use Pakistani territory as a safe haven for terrorism and a base of support for the insurgency in Afghanistan. These operations are in the national interests of Pakistan, the United States, NATO, and in the interest of the region more broadly,” the official said.

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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.

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