US to shift aid to Pakistan fighter jet upgrade: ABC

By Washington correspondent Kim Landers

The United States has confirmed it is shifting hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan from counter-terrorism programs to upgrading the country's F-16 fighter jets.

The Bush Administration says the F-16s are used in counter-terrorism operations and it is rejecting criticism that Pakistan wants the planes to be upgraded as part of its military rivalry with neighbouring India.

State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos says the upgrade will enhance the US-made fighter jets' ability to strike insurgents accurately.

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