Islamabad: Pakistan has claimed that the United States has agreed to supply modern weapons systems and modernise the country's existing fleet of 20-year-old F-16 fighter planes to check the "military imbalance" between India and Pakistan.

"The Pentagon has agreed to help suffice the country's Defence needs to effectively check the imbalance of power being created by India in the region," Pakistan's Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz told reporters.

"In addition to providing us modern equipment, the US would also modernise and refurbish our existing fleet of F-16 aircraft", he said.

However, some of the major items sought by Pakistan have to be approved by the US Congress, including matching systems to counter the Phalcon radar systems being acquired by India from Israel, he said.

He said Pakistan has handed over a list of modern equipment required by the three forces at the Pakistan-US Defence Co-ordination Group (DCG) meeting two weeks ago in Washington.

"They agreed to our list except for two-three items that need approval from the US Congress," he said and hoped that the rest of the items on the list would also be agreed by the US Congress.

However, the joint statement issued after the DCG meeting did not list any major items to be supplied to Pakistan except supply of spares for 30 F-16s, acquired in 1980.

PTI