Summary At present, the PAF has more than 70 F-16s and dozens of French and Chinese attack aircraft.
WASHINGTON (Web Desk) - The sale of eight new F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan has been halted by the US Congress, the Hindustan Times reported, citing a congressional source.
Last October, the US agreed to sell eight new F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. The decision came ahead of US President Barack Obama‘s meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
ALSO READ: PM Nawaz calls on Barack Obama
The new aircraft would have added to Pakistan‘s already sizable force of fighter jets. The PAF has more than 70 F-16s and dozens of French and Chinese attack aircraft.
However, the move has now been stalled as lawmakers raised questions about the end use of the combat aircraft and the relationship between the two countries itself.
Several requests for clarification and information were made by members of the House of Representatives, effectively “stalling” the process, said a congressional source.
At least one member of the Senate, a Democrat, has put a “hold” on the sale, a legislative process of a request to delay floor action on a measure, a bill, nomination or sale.
In effect, the sale has been “stalled”, multiple congressional sources confirmed. They, however, clarified at the same time it does not mean the move is dead or it has been “cancelled”.
Richard Olson, the US State Department official who deposed before the panel, had said the fighters had been used by the Pakistan Army for precision attacks in anti-terror operations.
The congressional move comes at a time when the US State Department has said it expects Pakistan to act against the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack without distinguishing between “good” and “bad” militants.
