News
Saturday, May 21, 2011
China to expedite delivery of 50 fighter jets to PakistanBEIJING: China has agreed to expedite the delivery of 50 fighter jets to Pakistan, a Pakistani government minister confirmed on Friday, as Islamabad tries to deepen ties with Beijing as an alternative to increasingly fragile relations with the US.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has been holding talks with Chinese leaders during a visit that comes as ties with the US have faltered after the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad this month.
Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar told the media that his country was aiming to receive “50 aircrafts in six months” from China at between $20 million and $25 million per aircraft.
As the pressure mounts in Washington, Gilani has courted “best friend” China, its biggest arms supplier, during the four-day visit that ended on Friday.
The fact that bin Laden was found in Abbottabad, and had been living there for years, has prompted many in Washington to call for a review of the billions of US civilian and military aid that Pakistan receives.
The Wall Street Journal originally quoted an unnamed high-ranking Pakistan Air Force spokesman, in Beijing with Gilani, as saying the jointly developed JF-17 jets would be in addition to another batch of the same aircraft that is currently being assembled in Pakistan. reuters
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk