Islamabad: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) airmen were being radicalised and F-16 jet fighters prevented from being deployed along the Pak-Afghan border , by extremist clerics, a wikileaks cable accessed by an Indian television said.
Pakistan’s Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Operations, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Khalid Chaudhry in 2006 told US officials that the airmen, most of whom came from rural villages, were being radicalised by extremist clerics. “You can’t imagine what a hard time we have trying to get to trim their beards,” the cable quotes the former AVM as saying.
Chaudhry was briefing visiting US officials at the Pakistan Air Force Headquarters and impressing upon them the need to ensure “the F-16 deal has enough sweetener to appeal to the public – a complete squadron of new F-16s, with JDAM and night-vision capability – but not to offer the PAF things that it cannot afford.”
Pakistan was in talks with the US to buy F-16 fighter aircraft and the US had voiced security concerns. The cable quotes Chaudhry as telling the delegation, “off the record”, that PAF aircraft were regularly called to provide air support to military and security forces when they get into tight spots in FATA,” dryly adding that Army brass and the ground forces commanders would deny it.”
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