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Pakistan puts off buying F-16 jets

The president, who refused to cut military spending after the quake, says the money is needed for recovery efforts.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf suspended a major purchase of U.S. fighter planes, saying Friday that funds are needed first and foremost for earthquake recovery.

The president - who has been criticized for refusing to cut the nation's enormous military budget in light of the disaster - called on the world to send more money, saying the response to the killer quake has fallen far short of that for last year's tsunami or Hurricane Katrina.

Musharraf said he was delaying the purchase of 77 F-16 fighters because of the need for rebuilding areas flattened by the Oct. 8 temblor, which killed more than 70,000 people. The quake left more than 3-million people homeless, most in the Kashmir region claimed by Pakistan and India, though the Pakistan side was harder hit. He did not say when the sale would go through.

Analysts estimate the planes' cost at between $5-billion and $10-billion, a steep tab for a nation struggling to provide basic education and health care to its people in the best circumstances.

Pakistan attaches huge importance to the F-16s, as they constitute an essential element of its air force's capabilities. The United States barred the sale of the fighters to Pakistan in 1990 after suspicions mounted that Pakistan was secretly producing a nuclear weapon. Pakistan tested its nuclear weapon in May 1998.

The go-ahead by the Bush administration in March to sell F-16s to Pakistan was seen as a reward for Musharraf's cooperation in the war against terror.

While reconstruction and rehabilitation is a major concern for the government of Musharraf, the announcement Friday of postponing the purchase was also aimed at placating possible criticism within the country, analysts said.

"This is probably to get political mileage," Dr. Ayesha Siddiqua Aga, a security analyst based in Islamabad, said, adding that there already was criticism over a recent $1-billion deal to buy a land surveillance system.

"If you buy major weapon programs, you cannot attract foreign aid for relief and reconstruction," Aga said.

Information from the New York Times was used in this report.

[Last modified November 5, 2005, 01:23:12]