US to sell Pak ‘acquired’ F-16s

The upgradation and installation of equipment would be carried out by the manufacturer in the US and all the aircraft would be fitted with sate-of-the-art equipment to meet Pakistan’s requirements, he said.

Karamat said the American government has already approved the F-16 deal with Pakistan and it would come up for discussion before the US Congress in October and November.

He said besides approving the F-16 deal with Pakistan, the US would provide it 20 state-of-the-art Cobra helicopters.

Apparently allaying apprehensions over the quality of the planes as they were being ‘‘acquired’’ from other countries, he said there was no question about the quality and lifespan of the jets as they would be ‘‘first rate by all standards’’.

Pakistan had last year sought the F-16 models capable of firing medium-range air-to-air beyond visual ranger (BVR), Amraam missiles, which have the ability to hit a target beyond a range of 60 km.

Billed as fire-and-forget category, BVRs were considered to be the most advanced missiles which the Pakistan Air force (PAF) so far did not have. Last year, the US had initially proposed to sell 24 F-16s, each costing around $40 million.

As per the delivery schedule, Karamat said Pakistan would be given two F-16s by December followed by supply of 20 in 2006 and the rest 55 in 2007.

The PAF, which has about 30 F-16s acquired in the 1980s, is currently modernising its aged fleet by buying used French-made Mirages as well as jointly producing the F-7 Thunder with China. The PAF has also procured several Mirage fighters from Libya.

About President George W Bush’s plans to visit the region, Karamat said indications are that the US leader’s visit to the subcontinent may materialise in February next year, during which time, he would also visit Pakistan.

He said Pakistan too has growing energy requirements and wishes to acquire US nuclear technology in the future. Pakistan wants that any US legislation on transfer of nuclear technology should not be made country-specific. ‘‘The legislation must also open up similar US cooperation with Pakistan,’’ he said.