F-16 sale to Pakistan: Rajnath Singh calls US counterpart Austin, raises alarm
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: India conveyed its “concerns” on Wednesday relating to the “sustenance package” accredited by the United States for the US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in an announcement mentioned, “Rajnath Singh conveyed India’s concerns over the US decision to provide a sustenance package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet.”
Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had a “warm and fruitful telephonic conversation” mentioned the MoD including, “They reviewed the multi-faceted India-US defence cooperation and reiterated mutual commitment to further strengthen military-to-military ties.”
As per the US State Department, the proposed package deal would maintain Pakistan’s functionality to fulfill present and future counterterrorism threats by sustaining its F-16 fleet.” Under the package deal a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) value $450 million for {hardware}, software program, and spares for the F-16 fighter jet programme with Pakistan was accredited on September 8. The official Pentagon model on the help package deal to Pakistan learn: “This will sustain Islamabad’s capability to meet the current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet as well as support American foreign policy and national security objectives by allowing interoperability in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations.”
It was PAFs F-16 fighters which had tried to breach the Indian Air area on February 27, 2019 in response to the Indian air raid on the Jaish-e-Mohammed coaching facility in Balakot, Pakistan.
NEW DELHI: India conveyed its “concerns” on Wednesday relating to the “sustenance package” accredited by the United States for the US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in an announcement mentioned, “Rajnath Singh conveyed India’s concerns over the US decision to provide a sustenance package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet.”
Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had a “warm and fruitful telephonic conversation” mentioned the MoD including, “They reviewed the multi-faceted India-US defence cooperation and reiterated mutual commitment to further strengthen military-to-military ties.”
As per the US State Department, the proposed package deal would maintain Pakistan’s functionality to fulfill present and future counterterrorism threats by sustaining its F-16 fleet.” Under the package deal a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) value $450 million for {hardware}, software program, and spares for the F-16 fighter jet programme with Pakistan was accredited on September 8. The official Pentagon model on the help package deal to Pakistan learn: “This will sustain Islamabad’s capability to meet the current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet as well as support American foreign policy and national security objectives by allowing interoperability in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations.”
It was PAFs F-16 fighters which had tried to breach the Indian Air area on February 27, 2019 in response to the Indian air raid on the Jaish-e-Mohammed coaching facility in Balakot, Pakistan.
