Washington, June 27: Undeterred by the US refusal to sell any more F-16s to Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf today once again demanded new F-16s and unmanned predators from Washington and warned that if the request is denied he would procure the weapons from other countries. Musharraf said he hopes the United States will sell his country sophisticated military hardware for its defence needs, including F-16s and predator unmanned aerial vehicles.

"Pakistan will not compromise on its strategy of minimum deterrence. So we obviously will look elsewhere to maintain the strategy of minimum deterrence wherever it may be in the world," Musharraf told The Washington Times. Musharraf, who earlier this week received a dollar three billion aid package from US, said Pakistan`s security is being threatened by India`s growing military power.

Putting forward his case for acquiring predators, he said the Predator is needed to help Pakistan in its intelligence-oriented war against al Qaeda terrorists.

"We have 500,000 troops in our army and we know how to fight," he said adding "just give us technical assistance. To date, the US has not exported Predators.

"I won`t reiterate the requirement for F-16s. It has been said so many times. When you ask a Pakistani in the street, he will tell you about the F-16s. For the man in the street, he will talk of either F-16s or Kashmir," he said.

Bureau Report