Pakistani Ambassador Hopeful Of Buying F-16 Fighter Jets From US

Pakistan’s envoy to the US, Jalil Abbas Jilani hopes that the incoming Republican government could revisit arms sales to Pakistan, notably of the F-16 fighter jet.

He also suggested that the next government could resolve issues and release the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to support Pakistan’s counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts, quwa reported Monday.

The government’s revisit to the sale of F-16s and CSF issues could strengthen the cooperation of Pakistan and the US in combating terrorism.

In 2016, the US Department of State approved a USD $700 million sale of 8 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block-52+ to Pakistan. But the sale was contingent on a Foreign Military Financing (FMF) element that would partly subsidize the sale. The Congress approved the sale but did not green light the FMF.

Following that, in April, the US Department of Defence also withheld a USD $300 million CSF package owing to the fact that it could assure Pakistan’s commitment to fighting Haqqani network in its Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).