Besides Multi-billion Aid, US to Give Pak Powerful Weaponry to Fight Terrorism
The US is going to augment its multi-billion dollar aid package to Pakistan with addition of a series of powerful new weaponry so that Islamabad could crack down on terrorists, reported ANI.
In addition to Congress-approved $7.5 billion aid over five years to fund infrastructure and education projects in Pakistan, secretary of state Hillary Clinton and secretary of defence Robert Gates promised further security assistance to Islamabad in recent weeks, said report.
Besides receiving 18 F-16 fighter jets and a dozen US-made surveillance drones, Islamabad will now get control of laser-driven ‘smart bomb’ technology which will heighten its capacity to strike and demolish remote target, report said.
A military official said that Pakistan had also demanded unmanned drones, but the US unambiguously refused those requests, said report.
The step enhanced worries in India, where government authorities fear that Islamabad could use the weapons not for fighting terrorists but in a future confrontation with its decades-long rival to the east, report said.
In the past, Pakistan used US aid to militarise on its Indian border which is the ground of New Delhi’s concerns.
