WASHINGTON, April 1: Two US legislators who co-chair the India Caucus have written to President George W Bush urging him to stop the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, and Congressman Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat and the other co-chair, jointly sent the letter saying the sale could negatively affect US interests in the region.

The two legislators also indicated they would carefully scrutinize any such measure in the legislature with a view to ensuring India’s strength. The Bush administration needs congressional approval for selling the aircraft to Pakistan.

“As the chair of the India Caucus, I have been privileged to witness and directly participate in the growing Indian-American bond. Our common goal of safeguarding liberty and combating terrorism has united our nations and stimulated a burgeoning relationship based on the many similarities and values that our cultures share,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement released by her office. She is senior member of the International Relations Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. In the letter that co-chair Gary Ackerman and she sent to President Bush, she said, the two, “... urged the president to reconsider the sale of F-16s to Pakistan, as it would undermine the long-term interests of the US in South Asia.”