US not to supply F-16s to Pakistan

The Clinton administration has ruled out delivering embargoed 28 F-16 fighter bombers to Pakistan, claiming it would also not resume military supplies to Islamabad. Instead, it was modifying its attitude to South Asia in view of better trading prospects in an area where people were discussing peace.

Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs Karl Inderfurth said this during a hearing of the congressional sub-committee on the Asia-Pacific. However, he said the administration would like to work with Congress to resolve the dispute over the non-delivery of the aircraft paid for by Pakistan before 1990, a major sticking point in US-Pakistan relations.

He said the Brown amendment, adopted two years ago, envisaged their sale to a third country to compensate Pakistan with its proceeds, but the US could not find a buyer. Indonesia backed out after showing some initial interest, he said.

The dispute arose in 1990 when then president George Bush invoked the Pressler Amendment and banned all American economic and military aid to Pakistan in protest against the latter's nuclear weapons programme. Along with the aid cut, the US froze Islamabad's military supplies which included the F-16s.

Now Pakistan insists that the US either hand over the aircraft or refund the advance of $ 650 million paid towards the cost. Pakistan also had to pay storage charges for the F-16s awaiting delivery at an US airbase in Arizona. Sub-committee chairman Doug Bereuter said the Congress was trying to make some budgetary provision to dispose of the matter.

Congressman Frank Pallone (Democrat) was critical of what he called an attempt to dilute the Pressler amendment, a US non-proliferation law, to provide arms to Pakistan which, he said, would only strengthen its military. It was against any kind of rapprochement with India which the US supported, he said.

Inderfurth disagreed, claiming the administration actually wanted to implement the Brown amendment, which sought to resolve the dispute with Pakistan. The Harkin-Warner amendment, now before the House, also seeks to resume the International Military Education and Training programme, which trains Pakistan officers in the US.

Inderfurth said there was no question of resuming the military supply relationship with Pakistan -- a legacy of the Cold War era. Pallone said President Clinton should not go ahead with his proposed certification that China was not supplying nuclear technology to other countries, since it was giving nuclear technology to Pakistan. An all-clear from the US would enable Beijing to import US nuclear power reactors and technology, he said.

Inderfurth replied that China had signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and had assured the US that it would not provide assistance to unsafe nuclear installations. The Sino-US summit, beginning in Washington on Sunday, would discuss further strengthening of non-proliferation regimes, he said.

Earlier, in his prepared statement, Inderfurth spelt out what he called ''new realities in the region'' which had made the Clinton administration come out with a new policy giving greater importance to South Asia in the US foreign policy.

Those included better trade prospects (US-India two-way trade stands at $ 10 billion, double that of 1992), its democratic traditions, a sense of growing regional co-operation, enhanced by India's new, more accommodating posture towards its small neighbour (the Gujral doctrine), operations of more than 100 American hi-tech companies in Bangalore and a massive market for the American power industry.

''Nowhere else in the world do two nuclear-capable states have such a long history of war and border conflict. The logjam of Indo-Pakistani conflict may be starting to loosen, and we have a strong interest in keeping their dialogue on track,'' Inderfurth said.

''Furthering our commitment to greater involvement,'' he said, ''the United States is sending a series of senior visitors to South Asia over the next several months. These include Secretary of State Madeleine Albright next month, followed by Health and Human Services Secretary Dana Shalala and Commerce Secretary William Daley. Early next year, the president too will travel to India and Pakistan."

The last US president to visit India was Jimmy Carter in 1978 and the last secretary of state to do so was George Schultz in 1983.

Inderfurth said there was a history of strained relations among the states of the region, including India and Pakistan and the long-standing problem of Kashmir. Insecurity was also generated by the nuclear and ballistics programmes of India and Pakistan. ''We want to see conflicts resolved and tensions reduced," he said.

''However, our new engagement in the region does not mean we intend to be interventionist,'' he said adding ''South Asia's problems must be solved by South Asian people. We will lend our assistance when and where we can, at the request of the parties involved.''

Inderfurth said, ''Real progress in resolving it depends on increasing confidence about security in both countries. Our broader dialogue with India and Pakistan will build on our previous discussions of proliferation issues with them.''

Prime Minister I K Gujral during his meeting with President Clinton in New York last month, Inderfurth said, acknowledged that proliferation and disarmament were important issues for continuing discussions. ''They will continue to be a top priority for us,'' he had said.