Pakistan needs F-16s to fight terror, says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
India Today
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, said that Pakistan needs F-16s to fight terror. Jaishankar had earlier claimed that everybody knows where and against whom F-16 fighter jets are used.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met his American counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC for bilateral talks, during which he raised concerns about the recent F-16 maintenance package for Pakistan.
In a press conference following the talks, US Secretary of State Blinken justified the decision by saying it would help Pakistan in its counter-terrorism efforts.
"To be very clear, this is a sustainment programme for F-16s that Pakistan has long had. These are old plans and systems that they already have. We have a responsibility and obligation to whoever we provide military supplies to maintain and sustain them," Blinken said.
"Pakistan’s programme bolsters its capability to fight terror and terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan or from the region. It is in no one's interest for them to go forward with impunity. This capability that Pakistan has can benefit all of us in dealing with terrorism," he added.
Read | Washington's responsibility, obligation: US State Secy Antony Blinken defends US-Pakistan F-16 fleet deal
While Jaishankar did not respond to the F-16 question at the joint briefing, he did raise concerns about the "merits" of the US-Pakistan relationship during an interaction with Indian-Americans on Sunday.
"For someone to say I am doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content, and when you are talking about something like the capability of an F-16, which everybody knows, and you know where they are deployed and their use, you are not fooling anybody by saying these things," Jaishankar said.
