Pakistani president postpones F-16 purchase from U.S.

Pakistan will postpone a long-awaited purchase of 77 F-16 fighter planes from the United Stats to focus its resources on recovering from the massive Oct. 8 earthquake, the president said Friday during a tour of the region devastated by the temblor.

Pakistan has been waiting for years to buy the high-tech fighters planes, the sale of which were blocked for years after Washington slapped sanctions on Islamabad over its nuclear program. But Washington reversed its position and approved the sale in March as a reward for Pakistan's help in the U.S. fight against terror.

In July, the Pakistani air force confirmed it was about to buy an initial two F-16s from the United States and Musharraf said as recently as Monday that the quake would not affect his country's huge military spending in any way. India strongly opposes the deal, AP reports.

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