US envoy to Pakistan Nancy Powell announced the 75 million-dollar sale of six Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules aircraft in a meeting with Pakistani air force chief Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat, the US embassy said in a statement.

"The purchase (by Pakistan) not only improves the defense capability of Pakistan, it also enhances its ability to conduct humanitarian relief missions throughout the region," the statement on its website said.

The sale, funded by a US government grant, increases Pakistan's fleet of military transport planes to 16, a Pakistani air force spokesman said, noting negotiations for the sale had been underway for several months.

"It is an old deal which has been finalised for which negotiations were being held between Pakistan and the United States during the past months," he told AFP.

The sale of C-130s was one of the first military offers from Washington after it lifted military sales and training sanctions on Pakistan in exchange for help in defeating neighbouring Afghanistan's Taliban regime after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The sanctions were part of a series slapped on Islamabad from 1990 over its nuclear program and from 1999 over the army coup by General Pervez Musharraf, who is now the country's president and a tight ally of US President George W. Bush.

"The sale of C-130s to Pakistan constitutes one of many ongoing projects in the ever-growing defense cooperation relationship between the United States and Pakistan," the US statement said.

"This important aspect of bilateral relations was recently reaffirmed during President Musharraf's meeting with President Bush" in Washington in June.

Washington and Islamabad have been firm partners in the 20-month hunt for fugitives of the al-Qaeda terror network. Pakistan has captured some 500 al-Qaeda suspects and handed most of them over to the United States.

The C-130 sale is funded by Washington's Foreign Military Finance program, which provides grant funding to eligible foreign governments.

Meanwhile state-run Pakistan Television reported that Pakistan was considering a number of options for the purchase of F-16 fighter jets.

"For the purchase of F-16 aircraft more than one option are under consideration," PTV quoted Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan as saying.

"We are in talks with Belgium and a number of other countries for the purchase of F-16 jets," PTV quoted Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan as saying.

The JS-17 Thunder fighter aircraft developed jointly by China and Pakistan will make its first flight in China at the end of this month, the PTV report said.

Washington blocked the release of 28 F-16s, already paid for by Pakistan, under the October 1990 Pressler amendment because it was unable to certify that Pakistan did not have a nuclear program.

WAR.WIRE