Pakistan is trying to get more F-16s from the US as well as looking towards countries like Russia and France for new aircraft to replace old ones to match India’s defence purchases.

Pakistan would seek to purchase ten F-16 additional planes from the US if the current deal for eight of these fighter jets is successfully concluded. Pakistan Air Force needs to retire 190 planes by 2020, forcing the country to look for various options.

India’s weapons purchases have always influenced Pakistan’s search for a matching technology irrespective of whether or not Pakistan can afford to pay for it. Pakistan’s obsession of India has remained since the time it gained independence in 1947. It fear of a 5th consecutive defeat in another possible war with India is forcing Pakistan to spend all that it has on military toys.

Pakistan’s Mounting External Debt and its Failing Economy ::

Pakistan’s external debt is projected to grow to a whopping $90 billion in the next four years and the country will need US $20 billion a year just to meet its external financing requirements.

The external debt figures compiled by renowned economist and the country’s former finance minister Dr Hafiz Pasha are about $14 billion higher than the projections made by the International Monetary Fund.

Dr Pasha on Saturday shared his doomsday scenario and his projections are based on official data. The $14 billion difference was mainly on account of foreign loans that will fly in to financing the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

The debt-to-GDP ratio has become irrelevant in case of Pakistan as the country lacks the capacity to repay the debt even at its current 65% level of debt-to-GDP ratio.

AID is Pakistan’s answer to Bankruptcy ::

Time and again Pakistani ministers fly to Saudi Arabia, the United States and China for financial aid to keep their economy afloat and prolong the collapse of the financial institutions of Pakistan.

For how long will its so-called allies keep rescuing Pakistan from declaring bankruptcy?

AMERICA – Patience in America is wearing out and this is clearly visible on Capitol Hill where the sale of F-16s is vocally objected. America might call Pakistan an ally in the ‘War on Terror’ but that is far from the truth. Pakistan has become a blood sucking parasite that leaves no stone unturned in draining out American Taxpayers money into funding terrorist across the world.

S. ARABIA – Saudi Arabia is already facing a strong financial crunch with global crude prices falling to $36 a barrel. The demand for Oil from the two largest importers (US and China) is constantly dropping. Relations between S.Arabia and Pakistan are not that rosy since Pakistan refused to join the Saudi led 34-nation coalition to fight ‘terrorism’.

CHINA – China is currently facing the worst economic slowdown in more than a decade. It’s GDP is growing at less than 7% and has lost around $600 billion in the last one year from its foreign exchange reserves.

The question now is whether the corrupt Pakistani leadership will pull up its sock and rescue its failing economy or continue on a multi-billion dollar weapons acquisition plan that it cannot afford to pay for. It is time for Pakistan to shed its ‘India centric obsession’ and look after its own internal problems before it’s too late.

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This article has been written by Darshil Patel exclusively for www.DefenceNews.in
Bsc. in CASFX – U.K.
Location : Mumbai