The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

The White House confirmed Thursday that it wants to shift 230 million dollars in aid to Pakistan from counter-terrorism programs to upgrading Islamabad's ageing F-16 fighter jets.

The news came as US President George W. Bush prepared to host Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday for talks set to focus on cooperation to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists and Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said a New York Times article detailing the shift was "accurate," but rejected criticism that Pakistan chiefly views the jets through the lens of its nuclear rivalry with neighbor India.

"The F-16s that they have are used in counter-terrorism operations.

We made them available to the Pakistanis and they need to be maintained," Perino told reporters.

Pakistan's new government "is facing a lot of pressure from a severe fiscal situation" stemming partly from soaring food and energy costs, and "they need assistance from the United States," the spokeswoman said.

But the Times reported that some US lawmakers have greeted the proposed shift with anger and may seek to block it, saying that Pakistan does not use its F-16s in support of the campaign against fighters in its remote tribal areas out of a fear that civilian casualties could fuel support for extremists.