16 January 2005	Sunday	05 Zilhaj 1425

ISLAMABAD, Jan 15: The US-Pakistan Defence Consultative Group (DCG) will hold its 16th meeting here in the first week of February during which vital issues pertaining to bilateral military cooperation and regional security will be taken up , Dawn learnt through diplomatic sources on Saturday.

The DCG is a primary forum for exchanging views and coordinating policies on defence and security issues affecting the US-Pakistan relationship, including the war on terror.

The meeting of the group, to be co-chaired by US Under Secretary of Defence Douglas J. Feith and Pakistani Defence Secretary Lt-Gen (retired) Hamid Nawaz Khan, will be held at the ministry of defence in Rawalpindi from Feb 1 to 4, well-placed sources said.

The DCG meeting acquires special significance against the backdrop of growing strategic partnership between the US and Pakistan. Notably, this will be the first meeting after the Bush administration declared Pakistan as a major non-Nato US ally (MNNA) and re-election of President George Bush to his office for a second term.

The MNNA status granted to Pakistan in March last year is supposed to make it easier for Islamabad to acquire US weapons systems. The forthcoming DCG meeting, officials say, would provide the first opportunity for a detailed discussion on what this status means for Pakistan in tangible terms. So far, its value for Pakistan has been merely symbolic.

Meanwhile, a preparatory meeting has been convened by the defence ministry next week to draw up the agenda for the forthcoming Pakistan-US defence talks, the sources said.

The meeting will be attended by top military officials and senior representatives of the foreign ministry and other key national security institutions. The two delegations are expected to discuss issues relating to US military equipment under the foreign military financing programme and foreign military sales.

The military sales component of the $3 billion multi-year assistance package for Pakistan announced by President Bush after his meeting with President Pervez Musharraf at Camp David in June 2003 will also figure in the talks as will the US conventional arms sales policies, the sources said.

Discussions would also cover Pakistan's military operations in the tribal areas against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, US security assistance in the NWFP and Fata, tension along the Pakistan-Afghan border and Pakistan's additional defence requirements given the challenges it faces on this front, it is learnt.

Pakistan will draw the US delegation's attention to the continuing security challenges posed by India's massive militarization and weapon acquisition programme, the sources said, adding that in this context it would emphasize the need to upgrade defence capabilities of its three services.

"Pakistan will also press for its legitimate defence requirements, particularly the sale of advanced weapons systems, including F-16 fighter aircraft, repair and up gradation of existing systems and licences for the import of spares," sources close to the defence ministry maintained.

The issue of F-16s was also raised by President Musharraf during his meeting with US President Bush last month but officials remained tight-lipped about the latter's response.

"The US administration is more sensitive to our defence requirements and we hope the trend will continue," was all that the foreign office spokesman said when quizzed about it.

According to officials, the DCG working groups on military cooperative consultations, counter-terrorism and security assistance would review the progress of defence cooperation between the two countries since the last meeting and identify and plan new activities for the future.

Besides bilateral issues, the DCG is also likely to discuss Afghanistan and Iraq and look at ways of stabilizing the situation in Iraq. The last meeting of the DCG was held in Washington in September 2003 after a gap of almost six years.

The joint statement issued after the meeting declared: "The Pakistan-US defence relationship is a critical element of the global war on terrorism, and key to the security and stability of South Asia."

At the 2003 meeting, Pakistan was assured by the US delegation that it would resolve security assistance issues expeditiously and provide information to Pakistan on the availability of new weapons and systems at the earliest possible.

However, in 2005 there are still complaints from Pakistani military men about the US administration dragging its feet on delivery of some vital security assistance. Initially, the DCG meeting was planned in October 2004 and then re-scheduled for December 2004 but it was deferred again.

The US Congress late last year gave the green light to $1.3 billion arms package for Pakistan, including the sale of eight P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft valued at up to $970 million.

This would be the largest US foreign military sale to Pakistan since lifting of sanctions against Pakistan in late 2001. Pakistan asserts that maintaining and enhancing its conventional arms capability is important for peace and stability in the region.