India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday slammed Washington for justifying the $450 million F-16 sustenance package for Pakistan, saying that the world is aware where and against whom the fighter jets are possibly used.
"For someone to say I am doing this (F-16 UPG sale to Pakistan) because it is all counter-terrorism content and so when you are talking of an aircraft like F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and their use. You are not fooling anybody," Jaishankar said during an interaction with Indian-Americans in Washington.
The minister also raised a question about the merits of US-Pakistan ties as he believed it does not serve the interests of either.
“It’s a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well, nor serving the American interests,” said the minister, who is on a 10-day visit to New York for the UN General Assembly and bilateral meetings with dozens of diplomats & politicians.
Jaishankar's strong rebuttal comes three days after the Pentagon tried to assuage New Delhi, as Washington reiterated that the F-16 sustenance package is not designed as a message to India over its Russian ties.
When the deal was announced, it triggered concerns in Delhi, with Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh conveying his concerns about the deal to his US counterpart in a phone call several days after the package was announced.