Asks why and how he would stop F-16 sales to Pakistan
Former Pakistani ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani has expressed surprise at Defense Minister Khwaja Asif’s claim that he (Haqqani) was lobbying against the latest tranche of F-16s for the Pakistan Air Force.
“I understand that the power equation in Islamabad does not allow civilians to assert themselves in all policy spheres but that does not justify ignorant statements,” he said.
Haqqani said that it is absurd to suggest that a former ambassador can hold up military sales from the US to Pakistan. “Implicit in the allegation is the admission that those currently responsible for conduct of foreign policy on behalf of Pakistan are somehow ineffective against a former ambassador who is regularly targeted for adverse propaganda by the powers that be in Pakistan.
Haqqani said the Defense Minister should know that he is an academic and not a lobbyist and it is not very difficult to look up the respective definitions of the different roles.
“I have not lobbied for anybody or anything since I left the position of ambassador. History would prove that while I served as ambassador, Pakistan received 12 F-16 aircraft from the United States as per contracts, without congressional opposition. As ambassador I did my duty of removing political difficulties in the execution of the deal and received appreciation from the PAF for my services in this regard. Congress also approved the largest civilian aid package for Pakistan of $7.5 billion over five years under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act during my tenure,” he recalled.
The former ambassador said that in some of his recent analytical articles he has pointed out the actual role of F-16s in the Pakistan military’s arsenal against India, which does not constitute lobbying for or against the aircraft’s sale to Pakistan. “For years, Pakistan’s sales pitch to the US has been based on underplaying its real strategic outlook to secure Foreign Military Funding and Foreign Military Sales. My factually correct articles offend those who do not want to change the basis of US-Pakistan relations to honest discourse, which is why these are being wrongly described in Pakistan as anti-Pakistan,” he added.
Haqqani said he advocates a new foreign policy paradigm for Pakistan, which includes pursuing independence from acquisition of military hardware from the US on false assurances and the shift of focus from military relations to economic and trade ties. “I do not believe that having the eighth largest army while being only the 42nd largest economy in the world is a sustainable course of action. Pakistan’s priority should be to put the 42 per cent school-going age children currently out of school in school,” Mr. Haqqani argues.
The former ambassador said that while he had no role in lobbying in Washington DC for anything, including the F-16 sale, he finds it disturbing that his scholarly work should even be an issue. “Support for or opposition to specific weapons systems for the military is not considered a measure of patriotism in any country except in Pakistan,” Haqqani lamented.