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Pakistan resolves F-16 deal with US

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief said today that Pakistan's long-standing dispute with the United States over the purchase of 28 F-16 fighter planes has been resolved.

Pakistan will get 467 million dollars from Washington, the outstanding amount of the money it paid for the fighter planes it never received. Earlier, Pakistan had received 157 million dollars as partial repayment.

''The F-16s issue has been a long-standing and a persistent irritant in our bilateral relations with the United States,'' Sharief told a news conference.

''For almost a whole decade now this issue has been hanging fire between the two countries because, in all these years, the US refused to give us the planes as well as our money.'' But that's over now and the money will be returned, he said.

''I am delighted that this issue has been satisfactorily settled,'' he said.

Delivery of the fighter aircraft was stopped after 1990 when the United States stopped all military and humanitarian aid to Pakistan to protest its nuclear programme.

The repayment of the money to Pakistan will be divided into a 327 million cash payment before the end of December and a payment of Rs 140 million in wheat and other commodities over the next two years, he said.

"As Pakistan must make annual purchases of wheat against cash, we deem this arrangement to be entirely satisfactory and as good as receiving cash payment," Sharief said.

Sharief, who met US President Bill Clinton in Washington earlier this month, said, ''In a statesman-like manner, he (Clinton) has honoured his commitment.''

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