South Asia's changing military balance

Yet, the observers do spot discrepancies in the accuracy of this give and take which are at times too obvious to be obfuscated. It is not for nothing that Pakistan does all the world's dirty works at the behest of the US -- all in the name of fighting the US war on terror. As a reward for supporting an international war on terror as a frontline state, Pakistan is being allowed at long last to buy 25 F-16s, a multi-role fighter aircraft. This can be considered a pretty poor pay off for everything Pakistan has so far done to promote the US interests in Asia's strategic corridor in its first war on terror. Pakistan hunted down the fleeing Talibans and al-Qaeda on its own soil, much against the sentiments of its own people. Some even ironically called it an aeronautical scrap from Washington for the services that include Pakistan selling out its former friends and allies to curry favour in Washington.

The irony is this: that the US still owes Pakistan 71 F-16s it purchased in 1988. These aircrafts were never delivered after the US-Israel lobby scuttled the deal. Although Pakistan's money was eventually returned, the damage was enormous to the PAF, which was virtually left orphaned.

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Even if the new F-16s are delivered, the PAF will have only 57 F-16s, over half of which will be outdated Block A or B Models. The rest of Pakistan's 243 fighters and fighter bombers are either at the end of another operational life, like its French Mirages or obsolescent like its Q-50s or J-50s -- which are in fact little more than a poor man's copies of the 1960s vintage of Mig-21 aircraft.

While Pakistan obligingly accepts aeronautical curbs from Washington with a measure of bravado, Washington is graciously offering India at least 126 of the most advanced version of it most versatile warplanes -- a combination of F-16 Block 5 or the F-18 super hornet in a $53.5 billion deal. The sale is just beginning. The US defence industry and Pentagon are hungrily eyeing India's booming market for imported weapons. There is already talk of the US selling state of the art command and military satellite technology and equipment, and early warning missile defence systems.

Israeli arms and technology sales to India are also booming. In fact Israel is India's second largest arms supplier after Russia.

Something is even more worrying for Pakistan. Israel is in advanced stage of negotiation with Delhi about supplying India its new anti-missile system. The new missile system -- the Arrow -- is said to be highly effective against the short and medium-range missiles that make up Pakistan's nuclear deterrent. India will soon begin deploying three Israel supplied Phalcon airborne warning control radar system mounted on Russian heavy transporter. This AWACS system will further worsen conventional arms imbalance between India and Pakistan.

Given India's ongoing acquisition of the fleets of new French and Russian tanks, armoured vehicles, mobile heavy artillery, and rocket batteries, plus its rapid deployment new missile system, Pakistan's equipment poor armed forces are now at their worst ever military disadvantage. The wages for the services rendered by Pakistan to the US might have been determined by the employer in this case, but there can't be a shadow of doubt about the impending loss of military balance in one of the world's most volatile regions.

Brig ( retd) Hafiz is former DG of BIISS.