Vikram Sood
29 April 2015
In the first week of April, the United States cleared Foreign Military Sale to Pakistan for AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters and AGM-114R Hellfire II Missiles as part of a $1-billion deal. Before this deal came through, the US had released $1 billion for Pakistan from the Coalition Support Funds in 2014, in addition to the $30-odd billion already given under some or the other head to the country.
The helicopter and missile deal is the largest one since $5.8 billion in 2006 for upgrading F16 aircraft. This latest agreement, like the previous ones, has been cleared despite the fact that Pakistan has steadfastly worked against the US' interests in Afghanistan, used the Haqqani Network, controlled and manipulated the Taliban and misled the US on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.
So there must be very good reasons why the US is choosing to ignore Pakistan's track record and reward it. Could it be for the services rendered to the US in the past or is it a payment for the future? This economic and military support to Pakistan could also be an insurance in the futile hope that Islamabad will stay away from Beijing, which is making very strong moves in Afghanistan and Iran.
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