New Delhi today hoped that Washington will maintain the position it has held on the resupply of F-16s to Pakistan, as furnishing of offensive military equipment in the past to Islamabad has created ‘‘trouble’’ in the region and have been solely used against India.In response to reports that US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld had informed Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani during his recently concluded visit that Washington would restart supply of F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan, and the same will be conveyed to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf when he comes to Camp David later this month, South Block officials said India made its position on the issue clear.Citing US denials to these news reports, the MEA spokesperson said: ‘‘Our position has been that in the past, supply of offensive military equipment to Pakistan by the US has created trouble in the region, as it has only been used against us. We hope that the US will maintain its position that it has adopted in recent years regarding resupply of F-16s to Pakistan.’’As the US today denied reports of such an interaction between Rumsfeld and Advani, official sources said, the publication of the contents of the conversation had raised much concern in Washington. Confirming that such a meeting did take place, sources added that a final decision was not taken, with Washington still rueing over the military consequences of reopening the supply line.Following an embargo since 1992, 28 F-16s were in the pipeline for the Pakistan Air Force but were never delivered by the US, and another 43 more on order were not completed. Pakistan was subsequently compensated for the embargoed delivery of its aircraft. However, with Pakistan gaining US attenstion after 9/11, the lobbying for fresh models of F-16s again started, as the Pakistan Air Force attempted to chalk a larger strategic role for itself. But with Washington concerned about maintaining military parity between India and Pakistan, the last word on the deal is yet to be uttered.
