Kasuri to explan Pakistan's need for F16s

Washington, Jul 10: On the eve of crucial Congressional hearings on US giving F-16s and other military hardware to Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri arrived here last night to hold talks with the Bush administration.

The hearing on F16s in the House International Relations Committee is scheduled for Thursday and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns will be the main witness.

Congressmen, called for the hearing as they are reportedly ''irked'' by the Bush administration's step to give a 5 billion dollar worth of military equipment to Pakistan, before prior consultations with the US Congress.

They said this was another case of the administration's ''distaste'' to involve Congress on critical foreign policy issues.

Mr Kasuri, who has a hectic schedule here, will meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later today. He will also be meeting Stephen Hadley, National Security Adviser to the White House.

His schedule includes meetings with chairman, Henry Hyde of the House International Relations Committee (HIRC) Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressmen Tom Lantos, Jim Colby and Jim Leach plus Senator Chuck Hagel.

In the meetings he is expected to make out a case for Pakistan's need for F-16s and explain how it would not upset the military balance in the region.

Besides meeting with various US leaders, the visiting leader is slated to address the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace tomorrow to talk on ''Pakistan: Promoting Peace, Security and Development''.

The Pakistani Minister will also discuss the war on terror, the Indo-US nuclear deal and U S Pakistani relations.

Mr Kasuri will address the US-Pakistan Business Council, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce.

UNI