Will not ask US for F16 jets anymore: Pakistan

Islamabad, June 13: Pakistan has closed the chapter of seeking F16 fighter jets from the US and will now opt for Jordan-owned F16 jets, an official said here on Monday,

Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Foreign Policy, said the US seemed to be satisfied with Pakistan's decision.

Choudhry said that one of the reasons for strained relations with the US were Pakistan's close ties with China.

"Pakistan cannot cooperate with the US on some issues," he said. "One of these issues is its sovereignty."

He added that strained relations with the US were nothing new for Pakistan.

Condemning the US policy of the war on terror he said, the US "has spent 16 years fighting the war on terror. If only it had given six years to the peace process, things would have been different."

IANS