***Indo-Pak arms race is no new phenomenon and two nuclear rivals spare no effort to further enrich their conventional military strength. The acquisition of the "F-16" by Pakistan falls in the same line and it is clear that by this decision the US did not want to annoy India as evidenced by Washington's offer to New Delhi as well. Probably, the United States wants to send a clear signal that it does not want to disappoint an ally that took painstaking efforts in siding with it in its anti-terror campaign.***

UNDOUBTEDLY, the recent decision by the

United states to sell

unspecified number of sophisticated F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan has caused some fissures in the current reconciliatory phase of the Indo-Pak relationship. The decision by Bush administration apparently took India somewhat by surprise as it came close on the heels of the first visit of the new American secretary of state Dr. Condalleezza Rice to both India and Pakistan when she spoke to leaders of the two countries on bilateral and other issue of common interest. True, the Us has also offered military assistance to New Delhi along with readiness to help India in other areas to strengthen its capability in economic and other fields as well, but the bottom line is that the decision has resulted in glee in Islamabad and some frustration in New Delhi. When president Bush conveyed the decision to Indian prime minister Dr. Monmohan singh, clearly the mood in the recipient's end was not anything relishing. Later, when the American offer to India was unveiled, the Indian prime minister was circumspect, saying they would weigh pros and cons of the Us proposal. However, there is a sense of disappointment in India since it felt Pakistan would be benefited by the decision which was a kind of sore point in Us-Pakistan ties since the later was asking for these aircraft for long.

Indo-Pak rapprochement efforts are continuing for more than a year. As a part of the initiative Pakistan prime minister shawkat Aziz paid a visit to India and also foreign minister Mahmud Kasuri. Indian external affairs minister K. Natwar singh was in Pakistan while a visit by Manmohan singh to Islamabad is awaited. Furthermore, Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf is expected to be in

New Delhi shortly in connection with a cricket match between his country and India, but the visit will not be devoid of political significance. All these augur well for better bilateral relations even though the crux of their hostility remains unresolved and no such headway is being made towards that direction.

The contacts received a boost following talks between president General Pervez Musharraf and prime minister Dr. Manmohan singh on the sidelines of multilateral conferences. Discussions at various levels are continuing between the two south Asian rivals after a thaw was witnessed in their hostile ties during the last days of the previous NDA government in India and followed up in a greater spirit under new uPA government. Developments in their relations since last about a year and a half have considerably reversed the trend of unfriendliness and enmity, raising hopes of a reasonably good bilateral relationship.

All these happy developments

governing the perennially belligerent ties between India and Pakistan become a matter of discussion not only in the region but also at the larger international arena for the simple reason that a glimmer of hope has arisen on the possibility of a better Indo-Pak relation. An unalloyed optimism exists in many quarters that the two nuclear-powered inimical neighbours may now be able to find common grounds to improve

their badly ruptured ties. However, this feeling is "cautious" and also "guarded" in the quarters familiar with the character of their bilateral ties though the positive omens are not being downplayed. such optimism did exist before as well, but unfortunately mostly fell short of expectations resulting in the dismay of those who genuinely look for better relationship between the two, a pre-requisite to a healthy political climate in the south Asian region.

Earlier, summits between leaders of two countries in recent years had produced mixed results. The Nawaz sharif-Vajpayee summit in Lahore generated hype for good ties but only to be belied by the "Kargil" conflict. Both the heads of government are not in the scene now. Later, the "Agra" summit between former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan president Musharraf failed to produce much results even though expectation centering the occasion had raised some hopes. such summits

caught international attention as that were seen as opportunities for a breakthrough in the icy bilateral ties but the euphoria disappeared much sooner than many had expected. As such, contacts at high level do produce some sobriety in complicated and even tension-ridden ties but the moot point is how long can it last and how far can it go? In any case, these help improve relations even if not for long duration.

undoubtedly, the main bone of contention in their is "Kashmir", which is defying a settlement for decades ever since two countries had emerged as a sovereign nations from British-ruled India. The issue is well known for its complexity and diametrically opposite positions held by New Delhi and Islamabad. Of late, some new thinking are dawning on this seemingly intractable tangle with both sides indicating readiness for shift from the hitherto held positions -- albeit no concrete and clear statements from either side.

As the two nations are dealing with not too different issues, hopes naturally soared for productive exchanges and this has received further impetus by support of international world including powerful nations welcoming the developments. unquestionably, this has put pressure on both sides to carry forward with positive side while both countries seem convinced their people barring the zealots largely favour reconciliation. Two

heads of government also appear to be keen to give a push in the peace process. President Mushrraf has urged the presently most powerful politician in India Mrs. sonia Gandhi -- although not in government but she heads the Congress and ruling uPA alliance -- to take further interest on bilateral reconciliation. Prime minister Dr. singh has favourably responded to this observation of the Pakistan president. But, not

surprisingly, no tangible progress has been made for talks on "Kashmir" even as two sides decided to launch srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service as a gesture of good neighbourliness.

Against this background, some quarters feel that the American decision to sell "F-16" combat aircraft to Pakistan, which has seemingly annoyed India, may dampen the present spirit of reconciliation. But it appears that this decision will not much affect either Indo-Pak or the Indo-us ties since this cannot be viewed as out of blue for the simple reason that Islamabad needs to be rewarded for its cooperation extended to the united states as a key ally of its anti-terror campaign. Pakistan was supposed to get these fighters long time ago as it had also made a part payment for the deal. It received one installment of the fighters but rest was stalled because of American suspicion about Islamabad's nuclear ambitions. In any case,

Pakistan attained atomic prowess, which India achieved before. Meanwhile, the Afghan crisis brought Pakistan as almost an integral part of Washington's anti-terror drive in the aftermath of the 9/11 and this has largely changed the Pak-American relations taking it on a more sound footing. President Musharraf, in America's view, has taken a bold step by continuing his drive against Osma Bin Laden and others even risking at least some support at home. It is as such, not unexpected that Islamabad will be rewarded by Washington for the role it is playing.

Indo-Pak arms race is no new phenomenon and two nuclear rivals spare no effort to further enrich their conventional military strength. The acquisition of the "F-16" by Pakistan falls in the same line and it is clear that by this decision the us did not want to annoy India as evidenced by Washington's offer to New Delhi as well. Probably, the united states wants to send a clear signal that it does not want to disappoint an ally that took painstaking efforts in siding with it in its anti-terror campaign. It seems that the us is also cautious that ties with India did not suffer by this decision. The present trend of Indo-Pak reconciliation is unlikely to be much affected by the American decision on "F-16" to Pakistan. Because, it is not as such anything against India as much as it is rewarding a strategic ally and India will not be oblivious of this point despite expressing disappointment.

Zaglul Chowdhury is a senior journalist.