Pakistan may get US F-16s yet

• US Senator John McCain says ISIS entry in Afghanistan marks new phase for Pak-US ties

There are renewed efforts behind the scenes between Pakistan and the United States to resolve the issues of the sale of F-16s. In this respect, a delegation of influential US lawmakers is set to arrive in Islamabad soon.

A well placed source told Pakistan Today that a four-member US delegation under the leadership of Senator John McCain is likely to arrive in Pakistan on July 2.

Senator McCain is a Republican and a former presidential nominee, who is also the current Chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee.

In an interview before his arrival, McCain said on Thursday that responsibility for trouble in Afghanistan and failure to resolve it does not lie with Pakistan or President Ashraf Ghani but President Barack Obama.

According to the US senator, the relation of Pakistan with the United States is fundamentally important and the terms between the two are better than before.

Other members include Republican House Member Ric Davis while Senator Lindsay Graham and Senator Joe Donnelly will represent the US Congress.

Ric Davis is also a partner and Chief Operating Officer of Pegasus Sustainable Century Merchant Bank, a private equity firm which specialises in sustainable development projects.

The delegation will hold meetings with Advisor to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif. Afterwards, the delegation will also go to Afghanistan.

Prior to the US elections, the visit is a part of the regional policy formulation of the US.

Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria also hinted at the arrival of the delegation, saying that the negotiations regarding the funding of F-16 jets for Pakistan may still be possible with the arrival of Senator John McCain.

“US Senator John McCain will be visiting Pakistan soon to meet the top leadership,” Zakaria told media personnel during a weekly briefing.

MCCAIN SAYS ISIS ENTRY IN AFGHANISTAN MARKS NEW PHASE FOR US-PAK TIES:

McCain said during the interview that US-Pakistan relations have entered a sensitive phase ever since extremist outfit, Islamic State (IS) emerged in Afghanistan. He favoured talks and negotiations among countries for resolution of outstanding issues instead of a boycott.

India should not have had any issue with Pakistan’s Nuclear Suppliers Group inclusion bid, Republicans’ 2008 presidential nominee said, adding that good terms with the neighbours are in the benefit of all.

He observed that permanent deployment of US troops to Afghanistan will be beneficial just like Korea, Japan and Germany.

McCain said that he would meet Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani soon.

THE F-16 DEAL:

The F-16 deal earlier faced a deferment after Washington asked Islamabad to foot the bill for the jets. Under an initial financing arrangement, the US was to pay about $430 million for the eight jets worth $699 million from Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funds, while the remaining cost was to be borne by Pakistan itself.

Islamabad rejected the idea of fully paying for the aircraft and refused to make any pledge unless the restriction on financing through the FMF was lifted. The Pakistani government was to provide the Letter of Acceptance for purchase of the jets by May 24 but a diplomatic source revealed that the document was not issued, leading to expiry of the offer.

A senior diplomat told Pakistan Today that the US wanted to use this amount as leverage to seek assurance from Pakistan for capping its nuclear programme. The source said that the US Congress had linked the deal with Pakistan’s action against Haqqani network.

The matter is pending as Pakistan had later decided to purchase the F-16s from Jordan.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Republican Party has a majority in the US Congress and has halted several programmes for Pakistan including the sale of F-16 fighters and other military and civilian aid.

Senior diplomats in Pakistan have expressed hope that the visit will have a significant impact.