WASHINGTON, May 24: The United States is gearing up to return the first Pakistani F-16s, perhaps as early as next week, even before repelling the Pressler Amendment, according to Congressional sources.The Clinton administration is examining whether a national interest waiver is possible to allow the 28 planes to move in batches of one and two while the Congress is in recess, the sources said. The planes which was purchased in 1988 and for which Pakistan has already paid $ 658 million, are lying wrapped in vinyl in a desert air base in Arizona.The fighter jets were sequestered under the Pressler Amendment which made it mandatory for the US President to certify each year that Pakistan did not possess nuclear weapons capability. However, in 1990, the then US President George Bush could not guarantee this.Ironically, Pakistan will now get the planes back because of India's overt nuclear capability while retaining its own covert capability. However what is not yet clear is whether the F-16s will carrynuclear weapons. The original deal envisaged supply of nuclear-capable F-16s. But that was scuppered when a CIA analyst blew the whistle on the planes' nuclear capabilities. The analyst, Richard Barlow, was subsequently fired.But now, the US administration wants to return the planes and supply goodies to Pakistan to convince Islamabad that it is alive to its security interests but should hold off its own retaliatory nuclear tests. Towards this end, Washington will now begin to administer military and economic aid.Pakistan has already indicated that it is willing to abjure testing if Washington is willing to supply it with sophisticated and advanced defense technology to enable it to meet India's ``nuclear threat''. This includes early warning systems and radar, surveillance and monitoring equipment equipment.At the same time Pakistan also wants the US to punish India and urge other countries to put pressure on India for conducting nuclear tests. Islamabad has said it wants to see results on allfronts with immediate effect. It also wants the arms and aid to begin flowing within a month.``They are milking it for all it is worth. The administration is putty in their hands,'' one Congressional aide said. The aide said the US could conceivably be opening up a pipeline of goodies that could be flowing into Pakistan forever in exchange for its nuclear restraint, ``nuclear blackmail by another name''. Indian officials are dismayed by the developments and rather helpless given the current mood. ``Anything the administration puts up with will pass easily. It will take us at least a couple of years to recover from this,'' one official confessed.Earlier this week, the Indian ambassador had his first interactions with lawmakers after the test and had a tough time with even traditionally friendly Congressmen saying the tests had embarrassed them. Although the embassy put its best spin on the meetings and said the Congressmen would fight to ease the burden of sanctions against India, it looks less likelythat they would be able to stop the flow of arms and military aid to Pakistan which has successfully painted itself as a helpless victim of India's aggressive intent.Officials here blame New Delhi for its inability to counter this, considering that it was the Pakistani leaders who first began to make the most outrageous statements.
