ISLAMABAD, Aug 16: President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali said on Saturday that Pakistan was not involved in any arms race but would take all possible steps to maintain minimum credible deterrence which had been quantified in terms of comparative strength, weaponry and force levels.

They stated this during a briefing at the Air Headquarters, Chaklala, where they were informed about the medium and long-term requirements of the Pakistan Air Force.

The meeting decided to replace the existing 400 fighter aircraft of the PAF with a high-tech fleet to help meet Pakistan’s defence requirements.

The meeting agreed that the existing fleet of F-16s, A-5s and F-7Ps should be replaced with the French-made Mirage 2005, Russian SU-30 and the Chinese-built JF-17 Thunder, also called Super 7.

It was decided that the existing fleet would be replaced in about a decade’s time for which the government would make available all the required funding.

Sources said the participants of the meeting were of the view that Mirage 2005 was an expensive aircraft as a single plane cost $50 million but still it could very well meet the PAF requirements because of being high tech and having strong manoeuvrability.

The sources said the meeting was informed that India had already got two squadrons of SU-30 and was planning to buy another 100 aircraft of this type.

The meeting was informed that while Russia would not be averse to selling this aircraft to Pakistan, it would, however, be responsive to any opposition from India to the deal.

The president, the sources said, believed that without fulfilling the PAF demands for high-tech aircraft, it would be difficult to defend the country.

He said the government should look into these issues seriously. On this occasion, the prime minister directed the finance minister to consider the urgent requirement of the PAF.

The sources said the government could make available $2 billion to $2.5 billion immediately for the purchase of new fighter aircraft.

Primarily, the president and the prime minister were given a briefing on the operational preparedness and engineering aspects of Super 7 aircraft by senior PAF officials.

An official statement said the president and the prime minister reaffirmed maximum support to PAF’s requirements of latest aircraft and equipment. They said the government was aware of the importance of air power as a vital component of the country’s armed forces.

The president and the prime minister also witnessed the display of weapons and equipment.

The presentation was also attended by Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, defence secretary, finance secretary, defence production secretary and other senior officials.