14 FEBRUARY 2016

Ø  Angered by a U.S. decision to sell eight more F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, India summoned U.S. Ambassador Richard Varma on Saturday to the External Affairs Ministry to express “displeasure” with the deal. At the nearly 45-minute meeting, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar told Mr. Varma that India was not only disappointed but also upset that its protests over the past year on the issue had gone unheeded. the Pentagon conveyed to the U.S. Congress the decision to sell the planes in a $699.04-million deal, and the U.S. government announced the sale on Friday. Early on Saturday morning, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that India was “disappointed at the decision of the Obama administration to notify the sale of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan”. Rejecting the State Department’s contention that the sale was in the U.S.’s “vital national security interests” as it helped Pakistan fight terror groups, the Ministry said, “We disagree with their rationale that such arms transfers help combat terrorism. The record of the last many years in this regard speaks for itself.” Officials confirmed that India would take up the issue with the Obama Administration in Washington. India believes the sale will only strengthen Pakistan’s ability to threaten India. The U.S. move is a setback to India’s hopes that given the mounting evidence of Pakistani agencies’ continuing support to anti-India groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the U.S. would rethink its arms sales to that country. In the past week, many in the government had hoped the details of the deposition in a Mumbai court by the 26/11 planner David Headley would remind the U.S. of the links of Pakistan’s ISI with these groups. The U.S. announcement has come at an inconvenient time, when India is hoping to extract action from Pakistan on the Pathankot terror attacks. The Congress alleged “miserable failure” of the government. “What is the net result of the so-called friendship between the Indian Prime Minister and the U.S. President, which was very much publicised by the BJP and this government,” party spokesperson P.C. Chacko asked.

Ø  Biraja Prasad, who was posted recently as Ambassador to Tajikistan, passed away on Saturday following a massive cardiac arrest. Mr. Prasad, who belonged to Odisha, suffered a heart attack during sleep, family sources said here. Prasad, a career diplomat, had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1998. He had held different diplomatic assignments such as third secretary and then second secretary (Political) in Embassy of India, Moscow (Russian Federation) from 2000 to 2002 and Second Secretary (Political and Commercial).