U.S. wants counterterror funds for Pakistan F-16s

A F-16 aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force fires an air-to-air live missile at its target during the Missile Firing Camp 2007 exercise at the PAF firing range near Karachi April 16, 2007. (REUTERS/Pakistan Air Force/Handout)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration has proposed shifting $226.5 million in U.S. counterterrorism aid to Pakistan to upgrade Pakistani F-16 fighters, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The plan has provoked some opposition in the U.S. Congress, where an influential lawmaker questioned how upgraded F-16s, which are widely seen as aimed at countering any threat from India, would be used against al Qaeda and Taliban forces.

U.S. officials have long been frustrated at what they view as Pakistan's failure to do enough to combat militants along its border with Afghanistan, where the United States has some 35,000 troops, many of whom are fighting a Taliban insurgency.

News of the proposal to shift the funds broke ahead of Monday's White House meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and U.S. President George W. Bush, triggering speculation that the Bush administration was trying to win favor with the newly elected Pakistani leader.

A State Department official denied this, saying the timing was dictated by the need to make a payment to the military contractor that would upgrade the planes, Lockheed Martin Corp, by the end of July.

The New York Times first reported the Bush administration's decision to ask U.S. lawmakers to shift the money. The White House and the State Department later confirmed the request.

The new Pakistani government is facing economic pressures partly from rising food and energy prices and needs aid from the United States, she said. U.S. officials said paying for the F-16 upgrades would free up money for other purposes.

PAKISTAN'S 'TOUGH SITUATION'

"We had a strong ally and friend who came to us in a tough situation financially," said State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos. "We were looking at ways to assist this ally and friend of ours. We saw this as an opportunity to do that."

A State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Pakistan asked for the funds to upgrade its F-16 fighters due to financial difficulties and a re-evaluation of the equipment it needs for counterterrorism efforts.

"NATO forces use F-16s right across the border ... in Afghanistan for similar purposes and frankly, Pakistan has already used its F-16s in sorties against terrorist targets," the State Department official said. "So it's a legitimate use and it supports a democratic government."

Gallegos said the F-16 upgrades would allow Pakistan to conduct close-air strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban targets in its remote tribal areas, a sanctuary for Islamist militants, and to operate the planes in all weather and at night.

Rep. Nita Lowey, the New York Democrat who chairs the State and foreign operations subcommittee of the powerful House appropriations committee, said in a written statement that the administration's request "raises serious concerns."

"Congress provided these funds specifically for counter-terrorism and law enforcement," she said. "It is incumbent on the State Department and Pakistan to demonstrate clearly how these F-16s would be used to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban in order to get congressional support."

Analysts say the F-16 and other big-ticket military items have traditionally been viewed by Islamabad as weapons to help Pakistan counter its huge rival neighbor, India.

Gallegos said the F-16 upgrades were not meant to enhance Pakistan's "conventional" capability, or its ability to fight other states' regular military forces.

Asked if the U.S. request was designed to gain favor with Gilani before his Washington visit, the State Department official who requested anonymity replied: "No, we're not that good.

"This has been under discussion for a while," he said. "We are trying to work with the new elected government and this is part of that but it's not specifically to curry favor for one particular visit."

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria, Paul Eckert and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Bill Trott)