ISLAMABAD: Department of State spokesperson Ned Price has said the relationship Washington had with Pakistan “stands on its own,” responding to criticism from India over a proposed US sale of F-16 aircraft sustainment and related equipment to Islamabad.
The Pentagon announced this month 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. Price later told media the equipment would sustain Pakistan’s “capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats.”
In widely published comments, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said last week the US was not “fooling anybody” by claiming the equipment was for counterterrorism operations.
The US-built F-16 aircraft are a critical part of the military arsenal of Pakistan, whose arch-rival India worries that the fleet could be used against it by its neighbor.
Answering a question about Jaishankar’s comments, the state department spokesperson said on Monday Washington did not view its relations with India or Pakistan “in relation to one another.”
“These are both partners of ours with different points of emphasis in each, and we look to both as partners because we do have in many cases shared values, we do have in many cases shared interests,” Price told a briefing.
“And the relationship we have with India stands on its own; the relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own.”
India and Pakistan engaged in an aerial battle over the disputed region of Kashmir in February 2019 after Indian jets crossed over into Pakistan to attack a suspected camp of anti-India militants.
An Indian jet was brought down during the fight and its pilot captured when he ejected on the Pakistani side of the border. The pilot was later returned to India. At the time, India has separately asked the United States for its view on whether the use of the F-16s by Pakistan was a violation of the end-user agreement.
Pakistan, which like India is nuclear-armed, has relied heavily on Chinese-made jets, but the F-16s remain the most effective and advanced in its fleet.