September 21, 2003	Sunday	Rajab 23, 1424

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WASHINGTON, Sept 20: Pakistan believes that there is realization in the US that a conventional balance is the key to maintaining peace in South Asia, and that if this balance is disturbed, the nuclear threshold will also come down.

This was stated by Defence Secretary Lt Gen (Retd) Hamid Nawaz Khan in an interview with Dawn on Saturday.

Gen Hamid Nawaz, who led a 14-member delegation to the first Washington meeting of the US-Pakistan Defence Consultative Group, said he had urged the Bush administration to consider selling more F-16 jet fighters to Pakistan.

The US response is not known but a joint statement issued after the two-day talks that ended on Thursday did not mention the aircraft.

The defence secretary said Pakistan also had presented a five-year plan for buying military equipment from a $1.5 billion grant the US had given for defence purchases.

This is part of the $3 billion multi-year assistance programme for Pakistan announced at Camp David in June 2003.

They two sides have held preliminary discussions on the military sales component of this aid package during the DCG meetings in Washington and more talks will be held next year in Islamabad.

The secretary said the US had briefed the Pakistan delegation on Afghanistan and Iraq and how they perceived the situation in South Asia. The question of Pakistani troops was raised, and Pakistan had reiterated its stance that “we will consider the US request once it is endorsed by the United Nations,” Gen Khan said.

Asked about the US reaction to Pakistan’s request for weapons, the defence secretary said: “Our request for defence purchase from America is divided into two parts. One is for equipment and spares for $341 million we are receiving under foreign military funding. The second is for the $1.5 billion President Bush had pledged when he met President Musharraf at Camp David in June. We have presented a five-year plan for buying weapons from the second amount. They have to consult Congress on sensitive goods. They have promised to do it swiftly, I am going back quite satisfied.”

He added: “We have requested UAVs for immediate use for border reconnaissance. We have also requested, Cobra and other utility helicopters and wireless equipment. We will also receive six C-130 transport planes for the Pakistan Air Force. We also have requested immediate upgradation of the F-16 jet fighters we already have.”

The secretary said in the second stage, Pakistan would like the United States to release the 28 F-16 planes Pakistan had purchased in the 1980s but whose delivery was blocked (when Congress cut off all aid and military sales in 1990, citing Pakistan’s secret development of nuclear weapons). “The F-16s will be the main item from our side for the second stage. We told them that we had paid for those planes. Blocking their sale has spoiled our relations. Our people think that revival of the F-16 deal will be a real sign of friendship between the two countries.”

Asked as to why Pakistan was so anxious to acquire the F-16s, the defence secretary said: “Recent Israeli sales to India have disturbed the conventional balance. We told the Americans that you must restore the balance. We should also get similar equipment for balance. We believe that the US should have stopped Israel from selling the Phalcon early warning system to India. But now that the sale is taking place, it is important that the convention balance is maintained. It is absolutely essential for our defence.”

When asked as to why Americans should accept Pakistan’s demand, Lt Gen (Retd) Hamid Nawaz said: “I believe they also realize that if the conventional capability goes down, it also brings down the nuclear threshold. They understand that a conventional balance is key to maintaining peace in South Asia.”