Islamabad:
On Friday, Pakistan confirmed the Trump administration’s decision to release $ 397 million as part of the “end user agreement” concerning F-16 fighter planes between the two countries.
“The F-16 monitoring program is a regular characteristic of Pakistan-Us Defense collaboration under” the end user agreement “and Pakistan is hosting its continuation,” said Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan, told his weekly briefing.
Official confirmation intervened after reports suggested that the Trump administration has published $ 397 million for a program supported by the United States in Pakistan to ensure that F-16 fighter planes in the United States were employed for terrorism control operations and not against its rival India.
The spokesperson has attributed development to “robust and solid” links aged decades with the United States.
“Our desire is to continue this important relationship. The two parties are already engaged through diplomatic channels. Pakistan remains determined to advance this relationship,” said Shafqat.
Regarding the remarks of the President on left weapons on the United States, the spokesman said that Pakistan had expressed concerns several times concerning sophisticated weapons in Afghanistan.
“We have raised our concerns about the fact that these sophisticated weapons find their way in the hands of terrorists who put terrorist activities in Pakistan,” he said.
“We impressed this question before the international community and the Afghan authorities,” he added.
Pakistan on Friday also for the first time officially commented on the closure of the crossing of the main borders with Afghanistan in Torkham.
“About the Torkham border, essentially the problem is that the Afghan part is trying to build a border post on our side unilaterally and that we have urged them to solve these problems through a bilateral mechanism, such as the meeting of the joint coordination committee, instead of resorting to unilateral actions”
“We hope that the question would be resolved by dialogue,” he added.
The border crossing has remained closed since last Friday for a checking station under construction by the Afghan Taliban without taking the confidence of Pakistan. The closure disturbed bilateral trade as well as the movements of people who frequently use the crossing to harm between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson confirmed that eight Pakistani nationals, who illegally stayed in the United States, returned to Pakistan
“Regarding broader politics, any Pakistani who remains illegally abroad, we try to facilitate his return, but there are certain procedures in place. If a person is judged illegally, we first confirm his nationality. Once the nationality has been confirmed, we accept our nationals,” he explained.
