WASHINGTON, Aug 23: Pakistan and India are trying to block each other from buying new aircraft for modernizing their air forces, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Saturday.

Pakistan is trying to buy an undisclosed number of second-hand F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft from the Belgian Air Force while India wants to buy 10 Mirage 2000-5 fighters from Qatar.

India has already launched a major campaign in Europe to prevent Pakistan from buying the F-16s while Pakistan has informed Qatar that it is also interested in the Mirage aircraft that India wants, diplomatic sources said.

Indian diplomats, the sources, said have launched a two-pronged campaign in Washington and the Belgian capital Brussels to prevent Pakistan from buying the F-16s.

Belgium needs US clearance before agreeing to sell the F-16s to a third country. Earlier this week, Belgian Defence Minister Andre Flahaut confirmed that the aircraft, which were initially bought from the United States, could be sold only with Washington’s approval.

In Washington Indian diplomats are believed to have warned the Bush administration that selling weapons to Pakistan could harm the newly developed close ties between the Indian and American defence establishment.

In Brussels, Indian diplomats are working both on the Belgian government and the opposition parties for preventing the sale.

India and Pakistan got entangled in a similar game in Qatar as well after the tiny Gulf state indicated that it would like to sell 10 Mirage 2000-5 aircraft it bought from France.

Last week, the Indian Air Force officially urged its government to try and purchase the nuclear-cable Mirages, which Pakistan is also trying to acquire.

The Mirage 2000-5 is a multi-role combat aircraft, which is technically superior to Mirage 2000s that New Delhi already possesses.

Diplomatic sources in Washington say that New Delhi is particularly interested in the deal as Islamabad’s acquisition of the 10 Mirage 2000-5 could blunt the IAF’s current technical superiority over the Pakistan Air Force.

India is also awaiting the delivery of an additional 10 Mirage 2000s from France’s Dassault Aviation, which is expected in mid-December.