Slowdown in US arms sales to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has received $7.9 billion worth of military equipment from the US since 2001, but the low ebb in bilateral ties in recent months has slowed down the pace of American arms sales to Pakistan, a latest Congressional report has said. In its report, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), an independent research wing of the US Congress, informed US lawmakers that major arms sales and grants to Pakistan since 2001 have included items useful for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations, along with a number of big ticket platforms more suited to conventional warfare. “In dollar value terms, the bulk of purchases have been made with Pakistani national funds, but US grants have eclipsed these in recent years,” said the CRS. The Pentagon reports total Foreign Military Sales agreements with Pakistan worth about $5.4 billion for fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2010 (in-process sales of F-16 combat aircraft and related equipment account for about half of this). In addition, the US has provided Pakistan with nearly $2.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) since 2001. These funds have been used to purchase US military equipment for longer-term modernisation efforts. Pakistan has also been granted US defence supplies as Excess Defence Articles (EDA). “Major discord in the US-Pakistan bilateral relationships beginning mid-fiscal year 2011 has slowed the pace of transfers and deliveries considerably,” the report said. online

Slowdown in US arms sales to Pakistan