PAKISTAN BALKING AT JET PURCHASE
By Bernard Gwertzman, Special To the New York Times
Credit...The New York Times Archives
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November 30, 1982, Section A, Page 1
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Defense Department officials said today that Pakistan had refused to accept delivery of six F-16 jet fighterbombers from the United States because they lacked the most advanced American electronic warfare system.
But late this afternoon, an official said that on the basis of talks conducted by diplomats at the United States Embassy in Islamabad with Pakistani Air Force officials, the dispute was on its way to being settled.
''I am 90 percent confident we'll have this resolved,'' he said. But he added that there would still be a delay in the delivery of the six planes, which were to have been sent to Pakistan this week. Pakistan has ordered 40 of the planes from the United States, and the six were the first to be offered for delivery.
The dispute over the F-16's came to light only a week before President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq is to visit Washington for his first meeting with President Reagan. It was an embarrassment to both sides, the official said, because the sale of the F-16's had become a symbol of an improved relationship between General Zia's Government and the Reagan Administration.
''The last thing we wanted was for it to become an issue between the two Presidents,'' the official said, explaining that a major effort was being made in Pakistan to reach a compromise.
When asked about a report that the planes had been held up, a State Department spokesman said that ''the United States and Pakistan are discussing the avionics configuration of the F-16's Pakistan has purchased.''
''By mutual agreement, delivery of the first six aircraft has been postponed until this question is resolved,'' the spokesman said. Pentagon officials said the Pakistanis apparently believed they were purchasing the standard United States Air Force F-16, but had balked when they found out that the craft they were to receive would not have what officials called ''state of the art'' electronic equipment for detecting enemy ground and airborne radar.
This equipment is regarded as vital to permit pilots to take evasive tactics and avoid being shot down by enemy an@tiaircraft missiles or by hostile aircraft, a Pentagon official said. Need for Security Cited
One official said the Air Force did not want to provide the advanced equipment for security reasons. The Pakistanis were being offered a less advanced system, he said.
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There was no explanation of whether the Pakistanis had discovered the problem only in recent days or whether this had been a longstanding dispute.
A Pentagon official said he understood that Israel, which also has the F-16, had been provided with the most up-to-date electronics equipment, which had been used effectively against Syrian antiaircraft sites in Lebanon and against Soviet-made fighter planes piloted by Syrians.
The F-16's are manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation and by a European consortium. The first six of a 40-plane order, worth $1.1 billion, were to have been delivered to Pakistan by the end of the week. Talks Began in Carter Period
Pakistan has an obsolete air force and has been trying for years to persuade the United States to provide it with an advanced fighter. After Soviet troops moved into Afghanistan in 1979, the Carter Administration opened talks with the Pakistanis about furnishing more advanced equipment, even though there was strong opposition in Congress because of Pakistan's refusal to halt a program that would enable it to match India in possessing nuclear explosives.
The Reagan Administration, however, gave priority to repairing relations with Pakistan. Where the Carter Administration offered Pakistan a two-year combined military and economic aid program worth $400 million, divided between military and economic aid, the Reagan Administration agreed to provide the Pakistanis a six-year, $3.2 billion military and economic aid package.
The first six F-16's are to be paid for in cash, provided by Saudi Arabia, and the remaining 34 are to be financed, in part by military credits from the aid package.
In a pamphlet on Pakistan's foreign policy issued by the Pakistani Embassy here in advance of General Zia's trip, the F-16 sale is given prominence.
''The F-16's are an essential component of the military sales program agreed between the two countries,'' it said. ''Pakistan needs these aircraft primarily for their deterrent value against any potential aggressor.''
''The United States readiness to sell these aircraft represents a symbolic gesture inasmuch as it underlines the American commitment to strengthen Pakistan's defenses in a dangerous environment,'' it said. ''The strengthened defense capability is vital to enable Pakistan to protect itself against the spillover effect of the general turmoil in the region adjoining its territory and to play its due role in preserving the stability of the area.''
American officials have justified the sale because of the threat posed to Pakistan by the Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
A version of this article appears in print on Nov. 30, 1982, Section A, Page 1 of the National edition with the headline: PAKISTAN BALKING AT JET PURCHASE.
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