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WASHINGTON: The lobbying firm that campaigned to get F-16 fighter jets for Pakistan in 2016 also advocated for India to block the proposed sale, claims a new book by a former US senator, Larry Pressler.
The book Neighbours in Arms details the arms race between India and Pakistan, and was published recently by the Penguin Random House in India. Excerpts from the book were published in an Indian digital magazine, Quartz.
Mr Pressler was also the sponsor of the “Pressler Amendment”, which banned most economic and military assistance to Pakistan over its nuclear programme.
The book claims that Lockheed Martin, a US company which manufactures F-16 fighter jets, had hired a Washington firm — the Podesta Group — to lobby for defence and aerospace sales to various potential buyers, including Pakistan.
Between 2014 and 2016, Mr Martin paid $550,000 to the group, which is headed by a Washington super-lobbyist, Tony Podesta.
“It is highly likely that they [the firm] assisted in the overall effort to push through the sale of F-16s to Pakistan,” writes the former US senator while noting that in February 2016, the State Department and the Department of Defence announced that they were approving a sale of eight more F-16s to Pakistan, which was “clearly a victory for Lockheed Martin”.
However, under the terms of the new deal, sale of the additional F-16s was to be subsidised by the US government. The subsidy was to come from the US Foreign Military Funds (FMFs), which is used to facilitate sales of US military equipment to foreign countries.
The Indian government protested both the sale and the subsidy, claiming that the nuclear-capable fighter jets could be used against them.
The Indian embassy in Washington summarily deployed their army of lobbyists to block the deal. “So, who has been lobbying on their behalf since 2010? Once again, the Podesta Group,” writes Mr Pressler.
According to the book, records submitted to the US Congress show that the Podesta Group received $700,000 from India for work they performed in 2016.
“Conventional wisdom says that a firm that is representing India cannot very well represent Pakistan at the same time. But in the world of the Octopus (military-industrial complex), the same firm represents competing interests and it is all legal,” Mr Pressler points out.
The book notes that the power and pressure of the Indian embassy’s lobbying firm produced results and a week after the State Department’s announcement of the planned subsidised F-16 sale to Pakistan, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul introduced a joint resolution to halt the sale.
Senator Paul’s resolution was debated on the floor of the Senate and a vote was called, but the resolution was scuttled in what is called a “tabling motion”. In a 71 to 24 vote, the Senate voted to “table” the resolution which effectively killed the effort.
The sale was approved but without the FMF subsidies, forcing Pakistan to concede that it could not afford to pay full freight for the eight fighter jets.
Lockheed Martin also complained about the news, saying that it would not be able to afford to keep its F-16 production line in operation without the sale. It also said, incredulously and ironically, that it planned to move the entire F-16 production line from Texas to India.
In an interview to a Pakistani newspaper, the vice president of Lockheed’s F-16 programme, Susan Ouzts, said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed interest in the planes.
Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2017
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Comments (34) Closed
The influence india has now in the usa, it will.not need any lobbies ...US companies depend on indian engineers to be competitive. US needs indian talent . They need us more than we need them
both of us are looking foolish !
If lockheed martin wins the F16 deal with india and moves factory from Texas to India, will Pakistan decommision their F16s and stop buying new F16s?
Pakistan need to be careful in selecting foreign services. Lack of separate Foreign Ministry in Pakistan may be contributing factors in wrong selection of form for lobbying with US government.
For the west and China it is ALL about the $ and dealing with corrupt politicians in any country make the deals more lucrative.
"The book notes that the power and pressure of the Indian embassy’s lobbying firm produced results and a week after the State Department’s announcement of the planned subsidised F-16 sale to Pakistan" ---- Indian clout on international level can't be denied!
This is how the hard earned tax payers moneys are going ...!!! the so called lobbyist & arms manufacturers dont want peace to run their business so they are the guys who are funding and fueling the crisis all over the world esp in Asia ..!! if India and Pakistan is expecting the world or any other 3rd party to resolve our difference it wont happen for sure ..!!! its not their business ..!!! BEWARE ..!!!!
It is absurd to think Lockheed keep production line for 8 aircraft. F16 is preferred by most air force since its operational efficiency and configuration. Indian PM Modi is interested in F16 because of the technology package and its supports his Make in India drive
@skumar No, Indian got what they want.But it is surprising that Pakistan can not afford eight F-16 planes .
The lobby firm took money from Pak and help scuttle the deal?! Wow, refund please
Peace is beneficial for both of countries ...iam sure they will not find any customer for this
US is very smart. They simply sale arms taking benefits of intense Indo-Pak rivalry.
Indians paid more than us and they also applied diplomatic force along with lobbying. So they won International politics is as complex as it gets
@Empire No, Lockheed Martin paid Podesta group to lobby firms. Pakistan did not paid anything. Read: "The book claims that Lockheed Martin, a US company which manufactures F-16 fighter jets, had hired a Washington firm — the Podesta Group — to lobby for defence and aerospace sales to various potential buyers, including Pakistan."
"Mr. Martin"? Lockheed Martin is an aerospace, defence giant (i.e., a corporation). I believe the author of this article took the concept of "corporations are people" a little too far.
F-16 is an outdated piece of junk now. Pakistani will focus its energies and resources on Block 3 and 4 JF-17.
@ Rajkumar, so true, we can not afford to pay for eight F-16, actually not surprising, had HBL ended up paying $650 Mil in fine, our entire financial system might have collapsed, sad state of affairs... @ Gaurav, stop with US companies depend on indian engineers!!!
@Rajkumar - its simple when same firm lobbies, it gets more money paid by the second party, and it is making a fool of both .. why we should pay so much more money .? better use another firm for lobbying . its like when - israelis trained both srilankan rebels and their army fighting each other .. This western business is so old , not worth repeating
What a silly joke?
US lobbyists are two timing Pakistan and India.
USA is lobbying in India to transfer F-16 and F-18 factory to be reallocated to India. India wants F-35 factory in India in addition to F-16 and F-18.
Guys
The joke is on both India and Pakistan - while an american company made money .
Pak obviously cannot pay for it , dependent as it is on IMF , while India is being pushed to buy what is at best an end of life aircraft .... there is a reason why its assembly lines in US are being shut down.
I would not be too surprised if one day , we find that F16s are being manufactured in India and being sold to Pakistan ... while Lockheed makes money .
Ridiculous ...
Pakistan now has the JF17, which is similar to the F-16 ironically all due to the pressler ammendment. So after 20 years one could actually call Larry Pressler the godfather of the JF-17 Thunder programme. Were it not for the sanctions, would Pakistan have pursued such a programme? highly unlikely.
@Irtaza M. Awan There is an old saying "grapes are sour"
@Rajkumar Pakistan can afford them, they chose not to buy them at full price. Currently Pakistan builds at least 16 JF-17 Thunder fighter Jets every year on its own. Why should we buy a foreign plane at full price when we can build it at less than half that price? if its subsidized that's another matter.
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad For once I agree with you. This silly joke is at the expense of both of us i,e. India and Pakistan.
@PKS - The truth is yes, Pakistan will have to phase out all its existing F-16 or manage to run by figuring out a way to service them at home with spares(not all) that could be procured from NATO logistics of Turkey or Jordan(That too will require US approval). Phasing out entire fleet of 76 F-16,then buying a new platform with training and armament will be a huge cost and time impact for Pakistan.
It is not wholly true that Pakistan cannot afford to pay for 8 F16s, but are accustomed to receiving free and got annoyed when the US denied subsidies. Sour grapes, Pakistan do not need. They would rather buy from China, who supports them in all fields and Chinese fighters are cheaper, for that matter most Chinese goods made for exports are cheaper. You can buy more for less dollars. In my opinion Pakistan acted intelligently and wisely, and in the bargain their friendship with China is going north.
@skumar yes two brothers fighting and outside people taking full advantage, but mostly even our own people are lost in this IndoPak past baggage what a shame!
IndoPak Blood Brothers 4 Life!
@Qadir ,
U r human...! Hats off to u for being honest & unbiased..
It is very simple - one is a free loader, while other will pay in cash. No need of any lobbying, whom to sell F-16s.
If Pakistan decides to buy the chinese modified jet fighters, instead of the US non-subsidized F-16's, one question still remains ...
Will the pakistani pilots be able to read the instruction manual in standardized Mandarin chinese script ???
@RAVEENDRA NATH Everyone knows the quality of Chinese goods - One time use and throw products at cheap price.
@Imtiaz Ali Khan true.