WASHINGTON, Dec 23: The United States has said that there are no restrictions on the sale of F-16 aircraft, TOW missiles or P-3C surveillance planes to Pakistan.

A senior US official also said that the secretary of state will issue the report Pakistan needs to get $50 million Congress withheld last week from a $300 million annual military assistance.

The lawmakers asked the secretary to confirm that Pakistan is making progress in the fight against terrorism and is taking steps to restore unfettered democracy before the money is released.

“We’re confident that we’ll be able to report to Congress on developments in areas that they have identified,” Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told a briefing in Washington. He noted that the lawmakers had asked only for a report and not for formal certification, which has a broader implication.

The Congress also required the US administration to ensure that Pakistan spends the remaining $250 million on strengthening its capability to fight terrorism.

This led to speculations that the restrictions may affect the deals Pakistan had already signed for acquiring about 700 air-to-air missiles, an unspecified number of F-16 fighter aircraft and P-3C surveillance planes from the United States.

Mr Boucher, however, clarified that the restrictions do not affect those deals.

“In terms of the use of the money that we’ve used for foreign military financing … it goes to TOW missiles. It goes to tactical radios that their forces can use to plan military operations. And it goes to support the programme for P-3C aircraft that help them do maritime patrols,” he said.

“This (restriction) does not affect the F-16 programme. The F-16 programme is a Pakistani purchase, their money, they’re buying them. Our military assistance goes for different purposes and is not involved at this point in the F-16 sales,” he added.Mr Boucher said that the US military aid programmes support Pakistan’s capability to fight terrorism ‘in a variety of different ways’ and Washington plans to continue them.

He noted that for the second time Pakistan is in command of the Combined Task Force 150 that patrols the seas off Pakistan and the Arabian Gulf to prevent terrorist activities on the high seas.

“So that’s where we are. The requirements of Congress, I think, are ones we’re comfortable with and we look forward to reporting to Congress and having a dialogue with them,” he said.

Mr Boucher, the top US diplomat for South and Central Asia, said any gap between the Bush administration and Congress over democracy and counter-terrorism in Pakistan fell between “minuscule and small.”

Pakistan will hold a general election on Jan 8 and Washington is working with Islamabad and Pakistani civil society “to try to keep moving towards an election that is as transparent, as fair and as free as possible,” he said. “Lifting of the emergency was a big step, removing a heavy burden that had been placed on the election period.”

US TIES WITH PAKISTAN, INDIA: The United States will continue to build a close relationship with India while maintaining a partnership with Pakistan, says US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In her end-of-the-year press conference this week, Ms Rice reviewed US foreign policies during 2007 and explained how Washington planned to pursue its foreign policy goals during 2008-09.

She noted that there has been some progress towards democracy in Pakistan. “Free and fair elections … will advance the goal of a moderate, democratic Pakistan that is a partner in the war on terrorism,” she said,

“At the same time, we will continue building a new and very important strategic relationship with India,” she added.

In Afghanistan, Ms Rice said the US and its Nato and Afghan allies were engaged in a fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists that they “must and will win”. The US, she said, would continue to support the Afghan government.

On Iran, she expressed a readiness to meet her counterpart “anyplace and anytime and anywhere and we can talk about anything” provided it does just one thing — “suspend its enrichment and reprocessing activities”.

“Let’s see if countries are prepared to take that path. But the US doesn’t have permanent enemies,” Ms Rice added.