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Pakistani Air Force ordered to shoot down US drones
RT,
8
December, 2017
Pakistan’s
Air Force (PAF) commander has reportedly ordered to take down drones
violating the country’s sovereignty, including that of the US.
Air
Chief Marshal Sohail Aman also recalled a historic breach of trust
incident over a batch of US-made F-16's which Pakistan paid for, but
never received. The jabs against America, a key ally, came Thursday
in a speech Aman delivered at a ceremony of aviation students
gathered in Islamabad. The top military official praised Pakistan’s
air prowess, saying their forces are prepared to defend sovereignty
of the country.
“We
committed a mistake in Osama bin Laden's case but now the country’s
sovereignty will be protected at all costs,” he told an audience at
the AirTech 17 expo at the Air University. Aman was referring to the
CIA-led US commando raid in May 2011, which involved a cross-border
flight of Black Hawk helicopters from Jalalabad, Afghanistan to
Abbottabad, Pakistan. The Pakistanis were not informed about the
planned assassination beforehand, which sparked outrage in the
country.
“We
will not allow anyone to violate our airspace,” Aman said as cited
by The Times of India, adding, that he has ordered the PAF “to
shoot down drones, including those of the US, if they enter our
airspace, violating the country's sovereignty and territorial
integrity.”
The
US flies drone missions over Pakistan and conducts airstrikes on
suspected militants in the turbulent tribal area on the border with
Afghanistan. The practice has prompted outrage amongst Pakistanis
because of the high death toll it effects on civilians.
"In
the past, the drones have been attacking targets in Pakistan. Earlier
it was perhaps with the detested approval of the government of
Pakistan. But in the last couple of years, the government of Pakistan
has not provided any such approval," Talat Masood, a retired
three-star general in the Pakistani army told RT.
Masood
explained that Pakistan is forced to protect its sovereignty in order
to avert an Arab Spring scenario witnessed throughout the years
across the wider Middle East.
"In
fact, at the moment there are some scribes in the New York press or
in the Washington press who are predicting that if Pakistan does not
draw the line of the United States of America, a Syria-like situation
maybe created over here. This has raised the hackles in Pakistan,
because Pakistan cannot allow its territory to be used by others to
engineer in the name of democracy, any farcical moves which can
destabilize the country," he said.
This,
however, conflicted with US non-proliferation goals, since Pakistan
was actively working on producing a nuclear weapon to counter
arch-rival India’s newly acquired nuclear capability. US law
prohibits providing any aid to a potential nuclear proliferator, so
in order to keep Pakistan on its good side, a stop-gap solution was
introduced – the 1985 Pressler Amendment.
Named
after US Senator Larry Pressler, the legislation enabled a US
president to certify to Congress that Pakistan was not developing
nuclear weapons, and thus qualified for aid. The administrations of
Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush did so for five years, despite
intelligence to the contrary.
Aman
praised Pakistan’s aviation engineers and scientists, saying their
expertise and brilliance means the country need not depend on foreign
suppliers for military aircraft. He recalled the issue of the
cancelled delivery of US-made F-16 fighter jets, for which Pakistan
already paid a multi-million dollar down payment.
The
episode illustrates the bumpy history of relations between Islamabad
and Washington. In the ‘80s, the US needed Pakistani assistance to
undermine Soviet troops in Afghanistan, pouring billions of dollars
in cash and military aid into an “anti-Soviet jihad.”
But
in 1990, USSR troops were no longer in Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s
value diminished in Washington. The non-proliferation sanctions then
kicked into force, putting a stop to the ongoing deal to deliver 28
F-16’s to the PAF. Pakistan was not only denied the planes, for
which it paid Lockheed Martin over $650 million, but also audaciously
slapped with a $50,000 per month storage fee. Ironically, the annual
payments to the US defense contractor for the withheld jets continued
until 1993, as Pentagon officials were telling the Pakistanis that
the warplanes would eventually be delivered.
The
F-16’s eventually went to New Zealand while Pakistan and the US
settled the dispute under Bill Clinton’s presidency, albeit via a
partial compensation. In Pakistan, the story is perceived by many as
a national humiliation, and an example as to why the Americans cannot
be trusted. Denied the American fighter jets, Islamabad relied on
China to develop a replacement, the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder, which has
been produced in both countries since the mid-2000s.
Chief
Marshal Aman praised the JF-17 corroboration as testament to
Pakistan’s technological capabilities, saying the aircraft is
superior to the F-16 “in all regards”. He added that the PAF will
soon produce a 5th generation warplane under Project Azm, and
announced developments in a national space program and potential
joint space exploration with China.
The
anti-American tinted speech by Pakistan’s senior military commander
comes amid a period of tense relations between Islamabad and
Washington. President Donald Trump harshly criticized Pakistan in
August as he was announcing his administration’s new strategy for
Afghanistan. The accusations fueled Pakistani sentiment that
Washington cannot be relied upon.
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