ISLAMABAD: Department of State spokesperson Ned Price has said a proposed sale of F-16 aircraft sustainment and related equipment to Pakistan would sustain the country’s “capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats,” adding that Washington expected Pakistan to crackdown on all terror groups.
The Pentagon announced last week that the US State Department had approved the potential sale of F-16 aircraft sustainment and related equipment to Pakistan in a deal valued at up to $450 million. The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin Corp(LMT.N), the Pentagon said.
Speaking about the proposed foreign military sale for the Pakistani Air Force’s F-16 program, Price said Islamabad was an important partner of the US in a number of ways, especially counterterrorism.
“And as part of our longstanding policy, we provide life cycle maintenance and sustainment packages for the US-origin platforms,” the spokesperson said.
“Pakistan’s F-16 program, it’s an important part of the broader US-Pakistan bilateral relationship, and this proposed sale will sustain Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining the F-16 fleet. This is a fleet that allows Pakistan to support counterterrorism operations, and we expect Pakistan will take sustained action against all terrorist groups.”
Speaking about media freedoms in Pakistan, Price said the United States continued to be concerned by “significant restrictions” on media outlets and civil society in the South Asian Nation.
The spokesperson was answering questions by a reporter from ARY News, which was taken off air last month over content the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has called seditious, accusing the channel of inciting mutiny within the powerful military.
The channel still remains suspended in many parts of the country and PEMRA has also revoked its license.
Charges against ARY News are related to comments made by Dr. Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff to ex-premier Imran Khan, and aired on ARY News in August. Gill had said in the TV appearance that there were attempts to create hatred against Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party among the middle and lower ranks of the military, whom he said loved the party.
He suggested the junior ranks were being pressured by the top brass and that these orders were against the wishes of the majority, and that the junior ranks should reconsider following orders that were against their principles. Gill and the head of news for ARY, Ammad Yousaf, were subsequently arrested. Yousaf is out on bail but Gill remains in custody.
“We continue to be concerned by significant restrictions on media outlets and civil society in Pakistan,” Price said at a weekly press briefing on Tuesday in response to comments by an ARY News reporter based in Washington.
“I know that your outlet, ARY, has not been immune to this constricted space. We routinely raise our concerns about press freedom to all stakeholders around the world, including to our partners and our counterparts in Pakistan.”
Price said the US was concerned that media and content restrictions, as well as a lack of accountability for attacks against journalists, undermined “the exercise of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Pakistan.”
“A free press and informed citizenry we believe are key to democratic societies around the world, key to our democratic future. That applies equally to Pakistan as it does to other countries around the world.”
