New York: US will supply sophisticated
laser-guided-bomb kits, 12 American-made surveillance drones
and 18 late-model F-16 fighters to boost Pakistani forces
capability to strike in remote tribal areas, a development
which could spark unease in New Delhi.
The new arms supply, Wall Street Journal said was part of
efforts by Pentagon to boost Pakistani forces capability to
take on Taliban and Al Qaeda militants.
Islamabad is also to receive equipment capable of
converting 1,000 traditional munitions into "smart bombs" that
can strike targets with precisions, the paper reported.
With this new arms aid, US counterinsurgency assistance
fund for Pakistan is slated to increase to USD 1.2 billion in
fiscal year 2011 from USD 700 million in the current fiscal.
"Pakistan, which is smaller and poorer than neighbouring
India, uses American grants to fund most of its arms
purchase," the Journal said.
"The laser-guided-bomb kits could spark some unease in
India, where officials have been warily watching the expanded
US military aid to Pakistan and wondering if the weapons would
one day be turned against them," the Journal wrote.
"India lobbied against recent US legislation giving
Pakistan billions of dollars in new non-military aid, though
the measure was passed anyway."
Members of the US Congress have regularly objected to the
constant flow of arms and ammunitions, questioning the
Pakistani leadership's ability to fight the insurgency and the
motivations of the ISI.
But no opposition has been aroused in case of new arms
shipment, the Journal said as Americans feel that Pakistan is
playing its part in neutralising dreaded militant outfits like
Al Qaeda and Taliban and allowing use of its soil to mount
drone strikes inside Pakistan's territory.
"The commitment that the Pakistani government, the
military, its intelligence forces have demonstrated over the
past several months to combating this threat within their
midst is commendable," Geoff Morrell, pentagon spokesperson
said, last week. "We are here to help them in any which way
they are comfortable."
In another recent article, the Journal reported that the
US was bumping up its defense equipment to both India and
Pakistan in the coming two year
"For 2010 and 2011, India could well be the most
important market in the world for defense contractors looking
to make foreign military sales," Tom Captain, the vice
chairman of Deloitte LLP's aerospace and defense practice,
was quoted in the article.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 03, 2010, 23:56