The government has now been asked to explain if there are any rules restricting the use of F-16 fighter jets despite reports that the US is investigating if Pakistan ‘misused’ American-made F-16s during a recent dogfight with India.
After the recently-concluded encounter that saw shooting down of an Indian Air Force fighter jet which had violated Pakistan’s airspace and arrest of the pilot, the IAF department had claimed that Pakistan used US-made F-16 fighter jets in close combat, which is indeed a potential violation of the terms and conditions determined by the US.
Pakistan had stated that no F-16s were used in the aerial operation, albeit it had not exactly specified what military equipment was involved.
Analysing the series of events, former chairman of the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani vent out his frustration in one single statement. “What is the use of the F-16 jets if they cannot be used for self-defence?,” he said during the proceedings of the upper house of parliament on Wednesday.
He also asked the government to explain if any strict rules or conditions were assigned to the use of F-16 fighter jets.