Pakistan welcomes US Congress clearance of F-16 jets sale
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, July 29, IRNA
Pakistan-US-F16 Planes
Pakistan on Saturday welcomed the Congress approval to the sale of Lockheed Martin's F-16 fighter jets to the country because the Congress was technically run out of time to stop it.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam hoped that the delivery of the planes will start as soon as possible.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on June 28 of a possible foreign military sale to Pakistan of 36 F-16s, a deal worth up to five billion dollars.
Lawmakers had a 30-day review period, during which they can move to block the sale.
Opponents of the deal could not succeed to block it and the deadline expired on Friday.
It was earlier thought that it would be extremely difficult for Congress to block the arms sale.
It would require passage of a resolution to disapprove in both the House and the Senate before the 30-day review runs out.
This was a positive development.
It has removed all hurdles in the way of the deal, the Pakistani spokesperson said.
She would not say when the delivery of the planes will start but hoped that the supply will begin as a formal agreement is struck.
The F-16 plane is part of the arms sale, which is going to take a few years.
Lockheed is expected to deliver 18 aircraft at first with a follow-on option for another 18, according to reports.
The F-16 sale furthers the national security interests of both Pakistan and the United States, said Mark Tavlarides, a lobbyist with Van Scoyoc Associates who represents the Government of Pakistan.
The approximately five-billion-dollar F-16 sale is a presidential priority and is part of the administration's South Asia strategy, aimed at broadening its relationships with Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, US officials believe.
2020/235/2322/1412
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