NEW DELHI: The defence ministry has set the ball rolling to buy 244 air-defence guns at a cost of around ` 7,000 crore. The defence acquisition council, headed by defence minister Manohar Parrikar, met on Friday and gave its in-principle approval to acquire the guns to defend vital installations against the aerial threats. The guns will be built in India in possible collaboration with a foreign player. A defence ministry official said the council had accepted the necessity of buying the guns. The DAC’s ‘acceptance of necessity’ for weapons and systems is the first step towards procurement.
F-16 fighter jets sale to Pak escapes US Congress axe
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: US lawmakers have refused to block the sale of eight F-16 combat jets to Pakistan but said they remained resolved to deny funding for it, citing Islamabad’s sketchy counter-terrorism record.
REUTERSThe Obama administration notified Congress of the sale of the F-16s to Pakistan on March 5, paying no heed to opposition from US lawmakers and India.Republican Senator Rand Paul had sought a Senate vote on a petition to disapprove the sale. It failed in a 71-24 vote, getting support far in excess for a move doomed to fail.
But in refusing to support Raul’s move, Senate leaders, from both sides of the aisle, said they will continue to deny the Obama administration permission to finance it.
“I continue to oppose any taxpayer dollars being used at this time to support this sale given that Pakistan is providing safe haven to terrorist groups and refusing to target the Haqqani Network, which attacks US troops and threatens the future of Afghanistan,” said Bob Corker, Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
Corker has put a “hold”, an infor mal declaration of opposition to an expense, on the sale making it conditional on Pakistan acting resolutely against the Haqqani Network.
Democrat Ben Cardin, the ranking member of the Senate committee, too announced a “hold”, which he has no intention of lifting yet. In short, the sale is stuck for now, unless Pakistan pays for all the jets worth $699.04 million. Paul’s move — described as a legislative procedure — was bound to fail, said sources, because Congress has never disapproved an arms sale, conceding it as a prerogative of the administration.