ISLAMABAD – The F-16 fighter jets deal betweenthe UnitedStates and Pakistan notes that the aircraft could be usedby Islamabad as ‘deterrence’ in a future conflict with India, adding thatit could also prevent a nuclear battle between the arch-rivals.
Either important points were specifically cited in a message thethen US ambassador in Islamabad Anne Patterson sent to the State Departmenton April 24, 2008.
“An enhanced F-16 programme also has deterrence value bygiving Pakistan time and space to employ a conventional, rather thannuclear, reaction in the event of a future conflict with India,” she wrote.
The quote is extracted from a 20-paragraph proclamation that AmbassadorPatterson sent to Washington in April 2008 and was disclosed by WikiLeaks.
The statement refers to the use of 500 AIM-120-C5 Advanced Medium RangeAir-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), which New Delhi claims that Pakistan AirForce used against the Indian Air Force in an aerial combat in last week ofFebruary.
US often imposes restrictions on how its exported military hardware can beused through so-called end-user agreements.
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Elucidating the rationale behind the notion of averting a nuclear war inSouth Asia by the use of F-16s, she wrote, “To overcome overwhelming Indianmilitary superiority, Pakistan developed both its nuclear/missile programmeand its air power. F-16 aircraft, armed with AMRAAMS, essentially buy timeto delay Pakistan considering the nuclear option in a conflict with India.”
“Given India’s overwhelming military superiority, this would only be a fewdays, but these days would allow critical time to mediate and preventnuclear conflict.”
Few days earlier, a CNN report said that Washington wanted to knowif Pakistan used a US-built F-16 jet to shot down Indian warplane on Feb27. As, the United States often imposes restrictions on how its exportedmilitary hardware can be used through so-called end-user agreements.
