Pakistan says US has agreed to refurbish its F-16 fleet

ISLAMABAD (AFP) Oct 01, 2003
The United States has agreed to modernise Pakistan's fleet of F-16 fighter jets and provide fresh military hardware to help in the pursuit of Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives, Pakistan's top defence bureaucrat was quoted saying Wednesday.

"In addition to providing us modern equipment, the US would also modernize and refurbish our existing fleet of F-16 aircraft," defence secretary Hamid Nawaz Khan said according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

However the US made no promise to sell additional F-16s to its key war on terror ally, a move Pakistan has been seeking ever since the lifting of military sanctions which had prevented the handover of 28 F-16s it purchased in the late 1980s.

Khan was speaking on the outcome of September 15 to 18 talks between Pakistan and US defence officials in Washington, at which Pakistan presented a list of military equipment needed to curb alleged Taliban infiltrators on its western border with Afghanistan.

"Pakistan has handed over a list of modern equipment required by our three forces including, army, navy and air force," he said, without specifying the equipment.

"They agreed to our list except for two to three items, which need approval from the US Congress."

Pakistan has been accused by Afghanistan of not doing enough to block infiltrations by resurgent Taliban fighters allegedly regrouping in western Pakistani tribal regions.

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage on Tuesday challenged the commitment of Pakistan's military to blocking the regrouped Taliban, saying in Washington: "I do not think affection for working with us extends up and down the rank-and-file of the Pakistani security community."

Pakistan says its forces are underequipped to effectively patrol and seal the porous 2,450 kilometer (1,500 mile) border.

Khan said Pakistan needs from the US "proper surveillance system and financial resources to check any illegal activity along its border with Afghanistan."

"Whatever our requirements are in the sector these have to be provided by the US in their own interests."

The Pentagon said in an official statement late September that it agreed to prioritise helping Pakistan improve its ability to operate against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, particularly in its tribal areas.

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