6, April 2005	Wednesday	26 Safar 1426

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NEW DELHI, April 5: India’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), celebrating its 25th anniversary on Tuesday, warned that the proposed sale of F-16 US warplanes to Pakistan would affect India’s security and has the potential to start an arms race in the region. The BJP national executive said in a resolution that the advertised reason for the sale of the planes by the United States -– to fight terrorism — was untenable.

“The BJP is concerned at the US administration’s decision to supply F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan, as this affects India’s national security,” the party said in a resolution.

It said what made the decision more worrisome was that Washington has disconnected the nuclear non-proliferation issue with the supply of F-16s to Islamabad.