US plans US$5 billion arms sale to Pakistan

WASHINGTON - The Bush Administration has said it plans to sell Pakistan up to 36 advanced F-16 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp. in a weapons package that could be worth more than US$5 billion ($8.2bn).

The proposed sale of 18 new "Fighting Falcon" fighters with an option for 18 more demonstrates the United States' commitment to a long-term relationship with Pakistan, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters.

The US State Department said it was part of a drive to broaden a strategic partnership with Pakistan and advance US interests in South Asia.

Once notified, Congress has 30 days to block such a sale. It is not expected to do so in light of Pakistan's strategic importance to the United States. Consultations with Congress have been under way since last year, Snow said.

In March 2005, the United States said it would resume sales of F-16s to Pakistan after a 16-year break intended to sanction Pakistan for its nuclear program.

Formal notification coincided with initial votes in Congress for the administration's plan to create a broad nuclear cooperation agreement with India, Pakistan's arch-rival, that reverses decades of US policy.

India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan since the 1947 partition of British India, objected to the sale before it was made public.

"We can reiterate our position that this step is not conducive to improving ties between India and Pakistan," Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters in New Delhi.

Washington has offered India a chance to buy F-16s or Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter as part of a deal that could cement a sea change in US-India ties since the end of the Cold War.

Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's biggest supplier, said the proposed sale to Pakistan could mean an extension of the F-16 production line beyond 2009.

- REUTERS