‘Pak used US aid for arms against India’

Pakistan has used a substantial amount of military aid from the US meant to fight terrorism to build up its army with modern weapons and equipment for a conventional warfare against India, Pentagon documents have revealed.

Pakistan has used a substantial amount of military aid from the US meant to fight terrorism to build up its army with modern weapons and equipment for a conventional warfare against India, Pentagon documents have revealed.

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All this was done with the knowledge of the Bush Administration, which not only provided $1.9 billion (Rs 8,930 crore) in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) but also signed agreements with Pakistan for military sales worth nearly $5 billion (Rs 23,500 crore) during the period, showed the Pentagon documents accessed by PTI.

The documents also revealed a major post-9/11 American defence supply to Pakistan under FMF had nothing to do with its fight against terrorism.

While the Taliban and al-Qaeda gained ground in the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, Islama-bad bought eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and their refurbishment worth $474 million (Rs 22,27 crore).

It also placed orders for 5,250 TOW anti-armour missiles worth $186 million (Rs 874.2 crore), of which 2,007 have already been delivered and the rest are in the process of being supplied.