After considerable debate between the Obama Administration and Congressional leadership, it has been decided that Pakistan can in fact have “up to eight” F-16 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, but only if Pakistan actually pays for them.
Congressional officials, including Sen. Bob Corker (R – TN), were said to object to the idea of the US financing the sale, or paying for any part of it, saying it would “send a message” to Pakistan. This appears to particularly be centered around efforts to get Pakistan to convince the Taliban to return to peace talks.
Needless to say, having other nations actually pay for the weapons they get from the US isn’t that common, and the State Department expressed objection to the idea, saying that being able to fund such sales is “critical to promoting democracy.”
Pakistani officials also expressed anger at the turn of events, saying it proved a “lack of sufficient appreciation” among US officials for all that Pakistan has done to work with them in assorted regional wars.
So, I guess they’ll be buying from Russia instead, for a third of the price.