A sale needs money.

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of F-16 aircraft sustainment and related equipment to Pakistan in a deal valued at up to $450 million, the Pentagon said." Reuters. "Reversing the decision of its predecessor, the Biden administration has approved a whopping USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment program to Pakistan." BS. Donald Lu, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Central Asian Affairs, told India Today, "It's a sale, not assistance." Diplomats are trained liars, but this is 'pants on fire', stuff. Pakistan is not in a position to pay for anything. "During the week ended September 2, 2022, SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) received $1,166 million from IMF under EFF (Extended Fund Facility) program," the SBP said in a statement. tribune.com.pk. "On September 2, the foreign currency reserves held by SBP were recorded at $8,799.9 million." So dire was the situation that in July, Pakistan Army Chief "Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa discussed the issue with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, appealing to Washington to use its influence with the IMF to help Pakistan." BS. In June, Pakistan Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal "urged the nation to cut down on tea consumption as part of measures to help overcome the foreign exchange glut." Dawn. Pakistan imported tea worth $589.8 million in 2020. So Pakistan is never going to be able to pay back $450 million for F-16 spares and it will be quietly written off, making it a gift. At the same time, "Group of Seven (G7) agreed...to impose a price cap on Russian oil aimed at slashing revenues for Moscow's war in Ukraine while keeping crude flowing to avoid price spikes." VOA. US Assistant Secretary, financing and financial crime, Elizabeth Rosenberg said that the price cap will help India buy oil at a more affordable price. Times Now. The US seems to have a surfeit of assistant secretaries shooting their mouths off. It could perhaps reduce its inflation rate by firing the lot of them. India is already doing nicely, thank you. "India ramped up its import from Russia from about 2 percent of the total shipment of petroleum products to 12-13 percent as part of inflation management," said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman. In 2019, Group Captain Avinandan Varthaman's MIG Bison was shot down inside Pakistani territory by a F-16 fighter jet of the Pakistan Air Force. wikipedia. "Pakistan...rejected India's claim that an Indian pilot shot down the Islamic nation's F-16 fighter plane in 2019." abc. So, the US can give arms to Pakistan to be used against India, but we should not buy Russian oil. We should put a cap on their sales. A cap for a cap, as it were.