Sunday, 13 Oct, 2024
By: Anshul Vipat
Source: IANS
US assistance to Pakistan for its "fight against terror" has always been a sore point in India-US relations.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar delivered a sharp response on the rationale behind the $450 million US F-16 security assistance to Pakistan. "For someone to say I am doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content and so when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and their use. You are not fooling anybody by saying these things", the former foreign secretary said even as USA assured India that it views relationship with both the countries separately.
The remarks were made when the Indian minister was questioned by the audience on US action on F-16 fighter jets with Pakistan. Just weeks ago, the US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Pakistan for the “sustainability of the Pakistan Air Force F-16 fleet” and equipment at the cost of USD 450 million. The deal also includes technical and logistics services for follow-on support for the fighter aircraft which was first delivered to Pakistan in 1980s by the Ronald Regan administration.
Earlier too, India had publicly expressed its displeasure to Washington. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh had spoken to his US counterpart last week and had expressed India’s concerns to the US. Ironically, this is the first major military assistance to Pakistan after the previous Trump administration had freezed security aid to Pakistan in 2018 accusing it of not acting against terror safe heavens.
US assistance to Pakistan for its "fight against terror" has always been a sore point in India-US relations. New Delhi has repeatedly raised its concern that the over military aid being extended to India’s western neighbour is actually being used to buttress capabilities against India. US closeness towards Pakistan was one of the reasons India picked Soviet Russia as its major defensepartner.
Pakistan has been among the top recipients of US aid
The US economic and military assistance to Pakistan indeed has a long history stretched over decades during which several American governments have poured billions of dollars into Pakistan. Although, none in Washington were ever concerned where the money is being used for its actual purpose or not. According to the data compiled by the Center for Global Development, Pakistan has received a total of $61.7 billion in total assistance between 1948 and 2010. Out of these, $40.4 billion were provided for economic assistance and $21.3 billion in military assistance. Pakistan has historically been among the top recipients of US aid since 1948.
Washington's military assistance increased during the peak of Cold War when Pakistan was helping covert and overt American military operations in Afghanistan following Soviet Russia's invasion. After the end of Cold War, there was a slowdown in economic and military assistance. But the situation turned upside down following the 9/11 terror attacks. US revived its economic and military assistance to Pakistan when the former invaded Afghanistan to flush out terrorists. In fact, since 2002, the US military assistance to Pakistan is almost two times, it had received in the past five decades. Similarly, there has been a dramatic increase in economic assistance to Pakistan. Since 2002, the US has provided on average $825 million annually in economic assistance to Pakistan.
The trump administration reduced the military assistance and then freezed it in 2018 when it finally realised that the assistance didn't went where it was intended to. Almost four years later, US has again resumed its military assistance at the cost of angering India.There is no doubt that Pakistan will use the F16s against India as has been seen in 2019 while continue to nurture terrorism in its backyard.
And as many fear, US will again experience diminishing returns from its aid-diplomacy in Pakistan. Just like it has been witnessing for six decades.
