Pak-US ties witnessing stalemate for the last three months: Sartaj

F-16s, nuclear programme, Shakil Afridi issues are irritants

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Thursday said that Pakistan would take up the issue of the financing of F-16 fighter jets with the US authorities during talks from May 30 and June 3, admitting there was a ‘stalemate’ in relations with Washington during the last three months.

“A glimpse of it is seen in the US Congress decision of denying subsidy on the sale of F-16 jets to Pakistan,” he said while winding up a debate on an adjournment motion moved by treasury Senator Mohsin Leghari and senators Tahir Hussain Mashhadi of the MQM, PPP’s Sehar Kamran and Sassui Palijo and PML-Q’s Mushahid Hussain Sayed.

Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani said the F-16 jets were a very serious matter and referred it to the joint standing committees of defence and foreign affairs of the Senate for a report to the House at least once a month. He also announced to revisit the letter he had written to his US counterpart, extending an invitation for a visit under the parliamentary exchange programme and would keep looking at the situation as it developed. He promised to take the House into confidence on the letter.

Sartaj Aziz noted that Pakistan had not accepted the demands of the United States with regard to its nuclear programme, Shakil Afridi and sought evidence about the Haqqani Group for taking action against it. He added there could be no compromise on Pakistan’s nuclear programme, which was for Pakistan’s security.

Aziz said that there had been a significant improvement in relations with the United States on multi-faceted issues. He pointed out the Indian lobby’s persistent efforts to block the sale of F-16s to Pakistan had been defeated through strong arguments and outreach to the US authorities.

The adviser said Pakistan had been making extraneous efforts to finalise the deal as promised by the US administration, adding Pakistan had forcefully rejected the Indian objections to the sale of eight F-16s to Pakistan and drawn attention to the wide-ranging defence deals concluded between India and the US during US defence secretary’s recent visit to India.

Pakistan, he continued, had also emphasised the importance of maintaining strategic stability in South Asia. As regards the US concerns, he said the government had been making strides on multiple fronts to keep the US administration and the Congress members engaged in a dialogue, highlighting Pakistan’s committed efforts and huge sacrifices in confronting the menace of terrorism.

In this regard, visits of two delegations of senior staff members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Relations Committee proved helpful in the final approval for the sale of new F-16s to Pakistan by the Congress, but it objected to the promised subsidy, saying these could be used against India.

He noted the proposed sale of eight new F-16 aircraft to Pakistan had two main elements, including approval of the sale in principle and approval of the funding through the Foreign Military Finance (FMF) of the US administration.

“While we have already achieved the approval for the sale, the funding issue is still being discussed as the US Congress has turned down the administration’s proposal for the use of FMF facility on this count,” he said.He said in October 2015 Pakistan reached an understanding with the US to buy eight blocked F-16 planes for $699 million.

The adviser said the US Department of Defence and Department of State were cognizant of Pakistan’s requirements and acknowledged the effectiveness of these jets in the war against terrorists. He said the Ministry of Defence had forcefully conveyed its standpoint at all levels.

On April 19, 2016, he noted the minister for defence wrote a letter to Ashton Carter, US Secretary of Defence, highlighting the role of PAF and importance of F-16s for Pakistan in the war on terror and requested for early resolution of the issue in favour of Pakistan.

While defending the US administration’s decision for the sale during the public Congressional hearing on April 27, 2016, the US Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP), Ambassador Richard Olson, made almost the same points as had been repeatedly advocated by Pakistan.

The adviser said the US State Department spokesman had also labeled the objections raised by the Congress concerning use of FMF funds for the sale as “not helpful in the conduct of the US Foreign Policy in the region”.

Highlighting the Pak-US relations, he said Pakistan relations with the United States constituted an important element of foreign, defence and economic policies. This seven-decade-old relationship, while robust and wide ranging, was characterised with occasional vicissitudes.

Earlier, lawmakers called for a complete review of foreign policy, guided by parliament, instead of focusing on how to best serve the American interests. They lamented that while Pakistan had sacrificed 60,000 lives, incurred losses of 100 billion dollars since 9/11 events, the US as in the past, had turned a blind eye to the country’s pressing needs and stuck to double standards in its relations with Pakistan and India.