The US Congress has sought to put on hold the Bush administration’s plans of diverting $200 million from counter-terrorism to upgrading F-16 fighter jets for Pakistan.Two senior lawmakers Howard Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Representative Nita Lowey said that they were concerned that the proposal would harm counter-terrorism efforts and instead suggested that the money be used as economic assistance for Pakistan to help relieve its budgetary constraints.“We have requested a hold on the administration’s planned reprogramming pending additional information,” they said in a joint statement.The plan for diverting funds which was revealed last week had raised hackles in the Congress with lawmakers questioning how the upgraded F-16s will help Islamabad in fighting terrorists.
