The United States will give six C-130 military cargo planes to Pakistan as part of the defence assistance committed under the $3 billion aid granted by President George W Bush in June during his Camp David meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Half of the money will be used for clearing Pakistan's debt to the US and the rest will be spent for providing assistance in the fields of defence and social development. The new planes, to be manufactured by Lockheed Martin, will be handed over to Pakistan in two years, deputy chief of the US mission in Pakistan, William T Monroe, told mediapersons in Islamabad on Monday.
An agreement to this effect, which was signed by US ambassador Nancy Powell and a senior finance ministry official of Pakistan, also provides for complete upgradation of cockpit avionics of the Pakistan Air Force's fleet of C-130 planes, the US embassy in Islamabad said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The purchase not only improves the defence capability of Pakistan, it also enhances its ability to conduct humanitarian relief missions throughout the region," the statement said.
The US had recently rejected Pakistan's request to provide F-16 planes after which the latter approached Belgium. On Monday, Belgium officially confirmed that Pakistan has indeed made such a request for two squadrons of used F-16 planes.
Belgium's Defence Minister Andre Flahaut expressed optimism that there will be no problem in selling F-16s to Pakistan, Islamabad daily The News reported. The sale, however, needs US approval. Belgium had bought the F-16 planes from the US under a contract, which stipulates that it could resell them only with US approval.
Defence experts in Brussels said Pakistan made a formal request to Belgium after sounding out the US administration. But before the Belgian government can approach the US government, it will have to consult the European Union.
Defence experts in Brussels see no problem in getting American permission as it would prevent Pakistan from buying the Thunder, a possible alternative, from China, which the US administration has already opposed.
On Monday, the US also signed an agreement to provide a five-year grant of $115.7 million to Pakistan to improve its health services.