Expressing surprise over India’s criticism of the US decision to sell F-16 aircraft to Pakistan, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said it would not lead to an arms race in the region. ‘‘Pakistan’s purchase of F-16s would not amount to starting an arms race or inducting a new weapons system as Pakistan already had a fleet of these planes,’’ Kasuri told reporters in Lahore last night. However, he said India’s decision to get Phalcon AWACs radars from Israel would certainly introduce new systems in the region. Kasuri said he was surprised over the Indian reaction. He said the Indian armed forces were far ahead of Pakistan in terms of defence expenditure and sheer number. On the US offering New Delhi cooperation in the nuclear field, the minister said Islamabad had also conveyed its need to the US. ‘‘We want to maintain a credible balance of strategic and conventional weapons.” He said the US decision to sell F-16s to Pakistan ‘‘is also a sign of the acknowledgement by the international community of the responsible role that Pakistan is playing in the promotion of regional and global peace and security.Kasuri also denied any link between the US decision to sell fighter jets and Pakistan’s willingness to send its nuclear centrifuges for Inspection to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for inspection. ‘‘The parts of the centrifuges to be sent by Pakistan to the IAEA would enable it to determine whether they were similar to the ones available with Iran,’’ local daily Dawn quoted him as saying.
