Can Pakistan use highly advanced F-16 against India? If it does than US will...
India Pakistan war: With the commencement of Operation Sindoor by the Indian Armed Forces in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attacks, India has destroyed almost the entire terror infrastructure across the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border. Pakistan retaliated by shelling across the LoC killing many civilians and injuring many. Pakistan also used drones and missiles across Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat but they were intercepted by India.
Reports also suggest that two of Pakistan's highly celebrated JF-17 jets were shot down by India adding that Islamabad may have deployed its American F-16 fighter jets.
This begs the question: Can Pakistan use America supplied F-16 fighter jets against India?
The entire fleet of Pakistan's F-16s has come from the United States, which has placed strict conditions on how these aircraft can be used. These fighter jets were sold under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. Every such sale comes with an End-Use Monitoring (EUM) agreement, meaning Pakistan cannot freely use or modify the jets without approval, reports WION.
There are also embedded US teams on the ground in Pakistan, part of programmes like Golden Sentry and Blue Lantern, whose job is to ensure American technology is not misused. These teams monitor the deployment of jets and weapons around the clock, says the report further.
Hence, as per the arrangements between the USA and Pakistan, the latter is prohibited from using F-16s in conventional warfare unless approved by the US administration. Moreover, these F-16s have been given to Pakistan on the condition that they will be used only in counterterrorism missions and not in direct state-to-state conflict.
Hence, it is to be understood that these fighter jets are not meant to be used against India in war-like situations.
To recall, US officials had accused Pakistan of breaking its F-16 agreement following the 2019 Balakot air strikes when Pakistan attacked a few sites inside India using these aircraft.
If Pakistan does not adhere to the agreement rules and misuses the F-16s again, America reserves the right to cut off support or suspend agreements.
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