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U.S. puts an end to F-16 dispute with Pakistan

December 19, 1998 (by Lieven Dewitte) - The United States will pay Pakistan $326. 9 million in cash and up to $140 million in other compensation to settle an eight-year dispute over F-16 aircraft that Islamabad paid for but never received.
Pakistan will receive $324. 6 million in cash from the U.S. Treasury and$2. 3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense as part of the deal reached by President Bill Clinton and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The other $140 million will include about $60 million in U.S. white wheat that Pakistan will receive during the current U.S. fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1. The remaining $80 million in compensation will be negotiated by the two sides.

The aircraft, bought to bolster Pakistan's defenses against its long-time enemy India, were denied to Pakistan by the U.S. Pressler Amendment, which barred military sales to countries with nuclear programs.

The F-16 issue has been a headache for Pakistan, which is grappling to repay millions of dollars on its $32 billion in foreign debt amid a hard currency drought caused by sanctions and the suspension of International Monetary Fund programs.