US President Joe Biden’s decision to sell Pakistan an F-16 fleet costing USD 450 million is still a bad idea, according to reports.
Even though Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated two weeks ago that the sale would benefit Pakistan in its fight against terrorist organisations, there are issues with his rationale, according to Michael Rubin, writing in the Washington Examiner, a US-based website. A Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Government of Pakistan for the Sustainability of the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 aircraft and equipment was previously approved by the US State Department in September at a cost of USD 450 million.
The author claims Pakistan is more inclined to employ its air force against its own citizens in Balochistan, where poor governance has given rise to a low-grade insurgency. Biden’s choice to provide Pakistan with the weapons it would use to target its own civilians is ethically reprehensible and runs the risk of backlash.
The Inter-Services Intelligence agency of Pakistan continues to support, fund, and equip terrorist organisations despite the fact that Pakistan’s military has lost thousands of soldiers in its own war on terrorism, according to the Washington Examiner. This poses a second issue with Blinken’s justification.
The author argues that the US should disregard Pakistan’s victim narrative until Islamabad decides to try the ISI leaders for treason for the harm they have caused by igniting extremist flames at home.
Furthermore, the US neglected a more serious issue, which is that Pakistan may train with China’s air force using the F-16, giving a new generation of Chinese pilots the chance to practise flying against US aircraft and modify their strategies in light of the modifications. The Washington Examiner claims that this practise will have an impact on US national security.
Notably, coordinated air force war simulations between China and Pakistan have occurred frequently. Some of these include the Chengdu F-7 interceptors made in China and the JF-17 Thunder, a warplane jointly produced by China and Pakistan.
Pakistan did not fly any of its roughly 75 F-16s during the December 2020 war games in order to avoid upsetting the Trump administration.
Pakistani leaders not only don’t fear Biden’s fury, but even in the best of circumstances, Pakistani pledges are illusory. Washingtonians should never forget Islamabad’s promise not to provide sanctuary for al-Qaeda or support the Taliban, according to the Washington Examiner.
Also, previously, Pakistan was revealed to have regularly permitted China access to US technology so that Chinese businesses could reverse-engineer it.
For instance, equipment that was lost after the operation to kill Osama bin Laden, the founder of al Qaeda, was an example of this.
For the sake of diplomatic fantasy, Biden and Blinken regularly embrace measures that could compromise national security. The author contends that Congress ought to prohibit the supply of weapons to Pakistan.