WASHINGTON: The US Congress has decided not to subsidise the sale of eight F-16s Pakistan intends to buy from the United States until Islamabad takes some “specific actions” against the militants who use Pakistani territory to carry out attacks inside Afghanistan.

The Obama administration, however, still contends it is in US interest to go ahead with the sale. “Key members of Congress have been clear they are not prepared to support FMF (foreign military financing) for the F-16s absent some specific actions,” a State Department official told Dawn. “I would direct you to them for anything further on their position.”

Asked if the Obama administration had asked lawmakers to reconsider their position and informed Pakistan of this new development, the official said: “I prefer to keep our conversations with the (Capitol) Hill and Pakistan on this issue private.”

The withdrawal of subsidy will force Pakistan to pay more than $700 million — two-and-a-half times the expected cost — if it wishes to buy the aircraft. The original arrangement required Pakistan to pay about $270m and expected that the US foreign military financing budget would pay for the rest.

A US news magazine, Congres­sional Quarterly, reported earlier this week that Senator Bob Corker had used his authority as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee to stop any US funding for the proposed sale to Pakistan.

Senator Corker told the magazine he was using the hold to force “behaviour changes” in Pakistan on how it combated those terrorist groups, particularly the Haqqani network, that posed a threat to other countries.

STATE DEPT DEFENDS SALE: The State Department, although forced to accept the congressional restriction, believes that it’s in US national interests to go ahead with the sale, as planned.

“It is consistent with our overall programme of support for the Pakistani military, which is based on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism,” Richard Olson, the State Department’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told a House committee on Wednesday.

“The Pakistanis have developed a precision strike capability that they use in the F-16s they have right now to take out targets [including the Pakistani Taliban].”

And a spokesman for the department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, David McKeeby, said in a statement to media that Pakistan’s current F-16s had turned out to be critical to the success of counter-terrorism operations.

“These operations reduce the ability of militants to use Pakistani territory as a safe haven for terrorism and a base of support for the insurgency in Afghanistan,” he added.

“We view Foreign Military Financing as an essential element of US support for Pakistan’s efforts to increase stability in its western border region and ensure overall stability within its own borders,” Mr McKeeby said.

When Congressional Quarterly, the magazine, asked Mr Corker whether he would lift his hold, the senator said he was waiting to hear from US military leaders in Afghanistan on the sale of F-16s to Pakistan.

“We’ll see,” the chairman said. “The purpose is only to cause [Islamabad] to cooperate more fully with us on the Haqqani network and others.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, both Republican and Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Pakistan should not be allowed to use US funds for buying the eight F-16s.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the House Middle East and North Africa subcommittee, said she favoured “stopping the sale of F-16s that Pakistan does not need and that will probably not be used in its supposed fight against terrorism”.

Congressman Brad Sherman, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, said it was important to determine whether the proposed F-16s were an appropriate fit for the region.

“We need to offer to Pakistan those weapon systems well-crafted to go after terrorists and not crafted for a war with India,” he said.

Ambassador Olson, however, opposed cutting US funds for Pakistan. “I would just respectfully suggest to you that our assistance programme is crafted to advance our national interests,” he said. At the same time, he reminded Brad Sherman that such restrictions had never achieved the desired results.

Another US state department official told BBC that the Obama administration was “still very much in favour” of the F-16 deal as it believed it served US interests.

EMBASSY VERSION: The Pakistan embassy here also issued a statement, pointing out that the F-16 deal was still being negotiated and neither side had taken a final decision yet.

The embassy’s spokesman, Nadeem Hotiana, said arms sales were a long process and that he would not comment on the deal’s current status.

“F-16s provide precision strike capability to Pakistan’s ongoing campaign against militancy,” he said.

“Pakistan believes that the threat from terrorist networks requires continued capacity building and both governments continue to work together towards this objective through a range of measures, including the sale of these aircraft.”

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2016