AFP, ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan should be able to keep their fledgling peace process alive despite New Delhi's anger at the planned US sale of F-16 warplanes to nuclear rival Islamabad, analysts and officials said.
Washington said late Friday, in a major turnaround, that it had agreed to let Pakistan, a major ally in the US war on terror, buy the sophisticated fighter jets in the face of fierce objections from India.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed “great disappointment” when US President George W. Bush telephoned to inform him of the decision, fearing it could affect the balance of power on the subcontinent.
But Pakistan, which has fought three wars against India, apparently tried to soften the blow by pointing out the United States had said it was also ready to boost defence ties with New Delhi.
“We want good relations with them. We have no objection if India gets anything, they can also buy the aircraft,” Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid told AFP after the US announcement.
Relations between India and Pakistan have thawed since they launched a peace process 14 months ago, with the two countries rebuilding sporting ties, people-to-people contacts and transport links.
Pakistan's military ruler President Pervez Musharraf is scheduled to watch a cricket match in the Indian capital and meet Singh next month in a further sign of detente.
But defence remains a sensitive topic, with India raising objections to the possible sale of F-16s to Pakistan during an Asian tour by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week.
Singh brought up the concerns again when he talked to Bush on Friday, telling him the decision “could have negative consequences for India's security environment,” said the prime minister's spokesman, Sanjaya Baru.
However analysts said the South Asian neighbours, which split in 1947 after independence from Britain, would be able to overcome their differences about the so-called Fighting Falcon jets.
“This is part of the American effort to maintain a conventional balance between Pakistan and India,” Riffat Hussain, head of the strategic studies department at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, told AFP.
The United States pointed out Friday that it would “respond positively” to an Indian request for information on a bid for F-16s, F-18s or other aircraft.
“An increase of US influence on both sides strengthens the peace process. Washington clearly wants a friendship between Pakistan and India,” Hasan Askari, a defence analyst and former head of the political science department at Punjab University in Lahore, told AFP.
“This will not have lasting negative implications because the balance of power in the region continues to be tilted decisively in favour of India.”
The move is sure to firm up ties between Washington and Islamabad, which has been seeking to add to its current F-16 fleet since 1990, when a deal for 40 planes fell through because of US concerns over the country's nuclear programme.
The sale has become a national cause in Pakistan, constantly debated in the media, and pictures of F-16s can often be seen painted on taxis, buses and public buildings.
“The symbolism of this move is very important because it buries the legacy of the US sanction-orientated approach to Pakistan,” Hussain said.
The deal is also likely to strengthen the position of Musharraf, who aligned himself alongside Bush in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
“It is an excellent pat on back for Musharraf's regime,” Askari added.
“This will help his government salvage its reputation at home, where the opposition, particularly radical Islamic groups, have accused him of bending over backwards for the US without getting anything in return.”
“It also defuses anti-American sentiments in Pakistan. The F-16 issue had become an emotional political issue since the 1990s,” he said.
