25 December 2004	Saturday	12 Ziqa'ad 1425

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WASHINGTON, Dec 24: Pakistan has already placed orders for three main items in a $1.2 billion arms package the United States has offered to sell, US sources said on Friday.

The items include eight P-3C Orion planes, 2,000 TOW-2A anti-armour guided missiles and six Phalanx Close-in Weapons Systems for Pakistani warships.

"The Pentagon is busy making arrangements for delivering these weapons to Pakistan," the sources told Dawn. Funding for these weapons will come from the $3 billion economic and military assistance package President George W. Bush promised to Pakistan two years ago.

Pakistan qualified for the proposed arms package on Dec 16 after the US Congress did not act to stop it within the stipulated 30-day period. On Nov 16, the Bush administration had notified Congress of its intention to sell sophisticated weapons to Pakistan.

The notification said the Pentagon could conclude negotiations with Pakistan on the proposed sale unless Congress acted to stop it within 30 days. The $1.2 billion arms package would be the largest US foreign military sale to Pakistan since sanctions against the country were lifted in late 2001.

The costliest items in the package are the P-3 aircraft, at an estimated value of $970 million. The command-and-control capabilities of these aircraft are expected to improve Pakistan's ability to restrict the littoral movement of guerillas along its southern border and enable it to maintain integrity of its borders.

Pakistan intends to use the P-3 Orion to develop a long-needed fleet of maritime and border surveillance aircraft. The P-3s are designed to hunt ships and submarines and will enhance the 'regional influence' of the Pakistani navy. The TOW anti-armour guided missiles were valued at $82 million, while the Phalanx weapons systems were put at $155 million.