NEW DELHI: Can Pakistan persuade the US to revive its famous World War II "lend-lease" programme to assist Pakistan's army access sophisticated weaponry?
According to sources, the beleaguered Pakistan president Asif Zardari is looking for ways to make himself more attractive to an increasingly hostile and powerful army, which he apparently believes is out to oust him from his position.
India has alerted the US to a move by Zardari's business cronies and some lobbyists to ask the Pentagon to sanction a unique "lend-lease" facility for military equipment for Pakistan army. This would be quite apart from the counter-insurgency equipment that the US already gives to Pakistan, which includes helicopters, night vision goggles etc.
In the backdrop of recent US reports that Pakistan is diverting US military aid to target India, the new attempts are significant, sources said.
The last time the US did a "lend-lease" programme, it was World War II and it supplied the UK, China, France and even Soviet Union with "war materials" between 1941 and 1945. The UK repaid the last of its debts on this score only by 2006.
For a US willing to "reward" Pakistan for a good job done, this could be tempting. If the US agrees — though there are no signs yet that it might — it would be unprecedented, said diplomatic sources, monitoring developments between US and Pakistan, but India would have serious concerns.
India has asked the US to monitor military aid to Pakistan, particularly since Pakistan has used US counter-terror aid to buy conventional military equipment against India.
Between 2002 and 2008, these include P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, about 5,250 TOW anti-armour missiles, six AN/TPS-77 surveillance radars, six C-130E transport aircraft and 20 AH-1F Cobra attack helicopters, as well as F-16 armaments including AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and 2,000-pound bombs, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, among other things.
The reason for the new arms wishlist from the US is rooted in the grime of Pakistani domestic politics. For the past few months, there appears to have been a campaign to cut out Zardari from the Pakistani political scene. PPP politicians have gone on record to express fears of a "minus-one" policy being worked out — to remove Zardari from office by focusing on his corrupt ways and and endemic corruption in the government.
Fauzia Wahab, Zardari's aide and PPP spokesperson, was quoted as saying, "The objective behind the campaign, launched by different elements, political and others, is to target and malign one man to get him dislodged... It was after our in-house, in-depth discussions, participated in by the President, that we reached a consensus that a premeditated move was underway to manage the exit of Zardari," she said.
While the political party has officially rallied around the president, and prime minister Gilani too appears to have resisted temptation, the move has prompted Zardari to look at options to make himself more attractive to the army.
And presumably the best way of feeding the beast is by being a facilitator for arms supplies from Pakistan's most willing supplier, the US. Helped by his lobbyists and business cronies in the US, Zardari, said sources in Washington, is planning to ask Washington to "lend" sophisticated military equipment. The only intended target is India.
According to sources, the beleaguered Pakistan president Asif Zardari is looking for ways to make himself more attractive to an increasingly hostile and powerful army, which he apparently believes is out to oust him from his position.
India has alerted the US to a move by Zardari's business cronies and some lobbyists to ask the Pentagon to sanction a unique "lend-lease" facility for military equipment for Pakistan army. This would be quite apart from the counter-insurgency equipment that the US already gives to Pakistan, which includes helicopters, night vision goggles etc.
In the backdrop of recent US reports that Pakistan is diverting US military aid to target India, the new attempts are significant, sources said.
The last time the US did a "lend-lease" programme, it was World War II and it supplied the UK, China, France and even Soviet Union with "war materials" between 1941 and 1945. The UK repaid the last of its debts on this score only by 2006.
For a US willing to "reward" Pakistan for a good job done, this could be tempting. If the US agrees — though there are no signs yet that it might — it would be unprecedented, said diplomatic sources, monitoring developments between US and Pakistan, but India would have serious concerns.
India has asked the US to monitor military aid to Pakistan, particularly since Pakistan has used US counter-terror aid to buy conventional military equipment against India.
Between 2002 and 2008, these include P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, about 5,250 TOW anti-armour missiles, six AN/TPS-77 surveillance radars, six C-130E transport aircraft and 20 AH-1F Cobra attack helicopters, as well as F-16 armaments including AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and 2,000-pound bombs, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, among other things.
The reason for the new arms wishlist from the US is rooted in the grime of Pakistani domestic politics. For the past few months, there appears to have been a campaign to cut out Zardari from the Pakistani political scene. PPP politicians have gone on record to express fears of a "minus-one" policy being worked out — to remove Zardari from office by focusing on his corrupt ways and and endemic corruption in the government.
Fauzia Wahab, Zardari's aide and PPP spokesperson, was quoted as saying, "The objective behind the campaign, launched by different elements, political and others, is to target and malign one man to get him dislodged... It was after our in-house, in-depth discussions, participated in by the President, that we reached a consensus that a premeditated move was underway to manage the exit of Zardari," she said.
While the political party has officially rallied around the president, and prime minister Gilani too appears to have resisted temptation, the move has prompted Zardari to look at options to make himself more attractive to the army.
And presumably the best way of feeding the beast is by being a facilitator for arms supplies from Pakistan's most willing supplier, the US. Helped by his lobbyists and business cronies in the US, Zardari, said sources in Washington, is planning to ask Washington to "lend" sophisticated military equipment. The only intended target is India.
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