Washington, DC, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Pakistan is poised to get a $1.2 billion arms package from the United States as Congress did not act to stop it within the stipulated 30-day period, diplomatic sources told United Press International.
The announcement said the Pentagon could conclude negotiations with Pakistan on the proposed sale unless Congress acts to stop it within 30 days.
Although the media reported the proposed package on Nov. 18, the notification to Congress was sent two days earlier, thus the required 30-day period expired on Dec. 16.
India had strongly objected to the U.S. plan for selling weapons to Pakistan, saying that it could affect the existing goodwill between India and the United States and could also jeopardize the India-Pakistan peace process.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran personally raised this issue during a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice in Washington last month.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also conveyed his concerns to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when he visited the Indian capital last week.
Pakistan, however, had rejected Indian objections as "incomprehensible," saying that its modest defense requirements should not irk New Delhi.
"It is incomprehensible that India, which has a massive weaponization and weapon acquisition program, should object to Pakistan's modest defense requirements," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.
In Washington, Indian lobbies had vowed to activate pro-Indian congressmen to resist the passage of the proposed package but behind-the-scene efforts by the Bush administration prevented this.
Not only did Congress not act to stop the sale, last week it also passed a bill binding the U.S. administration to ensure a long-term engagement with Pakistan and to provide continued military and economic assistance to Islamabad until 2009.
The bill, which President George W. Bush is expected to sign into law soon, also encourages greater market access to Pakistan and urges the U.S. administration to help stabilize the Pakistani economy.
Pakistan says it intends to use the P-3 Orion to develop a long-needed fleet of maritime and border surveillance aircraft, but New Delhi says the weapons could also be against India.
The Pentagon, however, argues that the weapons it intends to provide would enhance Pakistan's search surveillance-and-control capability in support of maritime interdiction operations and increase their ability to support the U.S. Operation Enduring Freedom operations.
The P-3s also are designed to hunt ships and submarines and will enhance the "regional influence" of the Pakistani navy, the Pentagon observed.
The Pentagon in their notification statement said the TOW anti-armor-guided missiles would help Pakistan "provide for its own legitimate self-defense needs and to enable Pakistan to support U.S. operations against terrorist activity along its porous borders" with Afghanistan.
South Asian diplomats in Washington say the smooth passage of the arms package and the adoption last week of a bill favoring Pakistan show that both the U.S. and the legislature regard Pakistan as an indispensable ally in the "war against terror" and want to ensure a durable and mutually beneficial relationship with the South Asian nation.
