U.S. wants counterterror funds for Pakistan F-16s

By Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration has proposed shifting $226.5 million in U.S. counterterrorism aid to Pakistan to upgrade Pakistani F-16 fighters, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The plan has provoked some opposition in the U.S. Congress, where an influential lawmaker questioned how upgraded F-16s, which are widely seen as aimed at countering any threat from India, would be used against al Qaeda and Taliban forces.

U.S. officials have long been frustrated at what they view as Pakistan's failure to do enough to combat militants along its border with Afghanistan, where the United States has some 35,000 troops, many of whom are fighting a Taliban insurgency.

News of the proposal to shift the funds broke ahead of Monday's White House meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and U.S. President George W. Bush, triggering speculation that the Bush administration was trying to win favor with the newly elected Pakistani leader.

A State Department official denied this, saying the timing was dictated by the need to make a payment to the military contractor that would upgrade the planes, Lockheed Martin Corp, by the end of July.

The New York Times first reported the Bush administration's decision to ask U.S. lawmakers to shift the money. The White House and the State Department later confirmed the request.

The new Pakistani government is facing economic pressures partly from rising food and energy prices and needs aid from the United States, she said. U.S. officials said paying for the F-16 upgrades would free up money for other purposes.

PAKISTAN'S 'TOUGH SITUATION'