11.05.2005
Pakistan Puts Off Warplane Purchase to Aid Quake Relief (Guardian.co.uk)
Declan Walsh in Islamabad
Saturday November 5, 2005
The Guardian
Pakistan will postpone the purchase of a fleet of F-16 warplanes to prioritise emergency aid for earthquake survivors the president, Pervez Musharraf, said yesterday.
The announcement came days after the military leader was criticised for refusing to cut Pakistan's massive defence budget in the wake of the disaster that has killed more than 73,000 people.
"We want to bring maximum relief and reconstruction efforts," General Musharraf said during a tour of the devastated city of Muzaffarabad at the start of the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The US agreed to sell the F-16 fighters to Pakistan in March after intense lobbying from Gen Musharraf. Washington blocked an original deal in the 1990s in protest at the development of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.
Local media reports suggest Islamabad plans to buy 25 F-16 jets at an estimated cost of $25m (£14.2m) each.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Pakistan puts off warplane purchase to aid quake relief) ¶ 15:32
Saturday November 5, 2005
The Guardian
Pakistan will postpone the purchase of a fleet of F-16 warplanes to prioritise emergency aid for earthquake survivors the president, Pervez Musharraf, said yesterday.
The announcement came days after the military leader was criticised for refusing to cut Pakistan's massive defence budget in the wake of the disaster that has killed more than 73,000 people.
"We want to bring maximum relief and reconstruction efforts," General Musharraf said during a tour of the devastated city of Muzaffarabad at the start of the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The US agreed to sell the F-16 fighters to Pakistan in March after intense lobbying from Gen Musharraf. Washington blocked an original deal in the 1990s in protest at the development of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.
Local media reports suggest Islamabad plans to buy 25 F-16 jets at an estimated cost of $25m (£14.2m) each.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Pakistan puts off warplane purchase to aid quake relief) ¶ 15:32
