An F-16 Fighting Falcon

Washington, July 30 (Reuters): The Bush administration has approved an initial shipment to Pakistan of two F-16 fighter jets, a down payment on what is expected to be a larger sale of newer US fighters over Indian objections, congressional sources briefed on the plan said yesterday.

The decision to initially provide Pakistan, a war on terrorism ally, with two older but refurbished F-16s comes less than two weeks after President George W. Bush reversed long-standing US policy by promising to help India develop its civilian nuclear power sector. India had expressed concern to Washington about its proposed sale of F-16s to Pakistan.

One congressional source said of the timing of the decision: “They (Bush administration officials) didn’t want to start moving F-16s to Pakistan until after the Indian Prime Minister had come and gone.” Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks at the White House on July 18.

Notifying Congress just before the start of the monthlong August recess could also help “blunt any backlash among the friends of India in Congress, of which there are many,” the congressional source added.

Key lawmakers were notified yesterday of the decision, and administration officials made clear a larger sale of newer fighter planes to Pakistan was still in the works.

The White House initially announced plans in March to sell F-16s to Pakistan but offered few details about the number of fighters and specifications.

The sale had been blocked for 15 years to punish Pakistan for its nuclear weapons programme.