WASHINGTON, Dec 1: The United States intends to provide Pakistan with military spare parts sought by Islamabad following the lifting of US sanctions on military and economic aid.

This was stated by a senior Pentagon official who was asked for a comment on a Dawn report last week that Pakistan had put in a request for spare parts immediately after the sanctions waiver and was waiting for a response from Washington.

The official said most of the spare parts related to Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft.

The spare parts were ordered before the recent events but were held up because of the embargo on US military sales to Pakistan.

All US sanctions imposed before the nuclear tests in the subcontinent and those slapped subsequent to the tests, as well as the so-called democracy sanctions, have been waived by the Bush administration.

The waiver was being considered even before the Sept 11 events, but the process was speeded up after the attacks and Pakistan’s decision to back the US anti-terrorism drive.

Pakistan sources say the embassy’s defence officials have been looking at the required spare parts that are located at various points in the US to see whether their shelf life remains valid. They said that apart from technical reasons there was no political impediment to the acquisition of spare parts.

During his meeting with President George Bush in New York in October, Gen Pervez Musharraf had also raised the question of getting additional F-16s, but the proposal was turned down.