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US, Pak close to deal on mothballed F-16s

President Bill Clinton and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief, during the latter's visit to the United States, reached agreement on resolving the long-standing dispute between the two countries on the non-delivery of F-16 fighter-bombers, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Karl Inderfurth said.

In a Worldnet dialogue with Pakistani journalists and others, Inderfurth said, "A detailed view of the accounts related to these aircraft is now underway by officials of our government. As Prime Minister Sharief said upon his arrival in Islamabad, we believe a resolution of this issue will be announced shortly."

He said, "President Clinton was very gratified that this issue, which has complicated our relationship for several years, is now on its way to being resolved in a manner that is fair to Pakistan."

Meanwhile, according to reports in the Pakistani media, talks between the US and Pakistan on the matter have reached a decisive stage.

The talks, continuing at the level of senior officials, are focussed on the American offer of a cash payment of about $360 million out of the balance of $501 million it owes Pakistan. The rest will be paid in the form of commodities.

The Clinton administration has sounded US lawmakers about its proposal to refund Pakistan's money.

The progress on this major irritant in relations between the two countries is one tangible outcome of Sharief's trip to Washington early this month, according to the Pakistani reports, which also said it represents a big improvement over Clinton's offer in May to dissuade Pakistan from conducting its nuclear tests.

The Nation, a Lahore daily, quoted Pakistani Ambassador in Washington Riaz Khokhar as saying, "We are sorting out modalities."

He said Clinton and Sharief had taken a decision in principle on the issue during their December 2 meeting in Washington.

Pakistan purchased 28 F-16 planes and military equipment in 1989 and paid $1.2 billion towards their cost. But before the delivery could be made, President George Bush invoked the Pressler Amendment in 1990 and banned all American military and economic aid to Pakistan which had been to the order of $650 million a year in the 1980s.

The Bush administration took this step in protest against Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

As a result, Islamabad got neither the equipment nor the money it had paid.

Under the Brown Amendment passed in 1996, the US delivered $358 million worth of the embargoed equipment, excluding the F-16s. Under the amendment, these aircraft are to be sold to a third country and their sale proceeds given to Pakistan. Recently, New Zealand has shown some interest in buying them.

UNI

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