Mukhtar made the comments on the sidelines of a meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was wrapping up a four-day visit to China -- his country's long-time ally.

"We think there is a good deal," said Mukhtar, who put the price of each JF-17, or Thunder, aircraft at $20-25 million "as compared to $80 million for the F16", a US-built jet also used by Pakistan's air force.

Mukhtar did not explicitly say whether the deal had been finalised, but it appeared that the agreement was nearing completion.

Further details of the deal were not made public but the agreement was apparently discussed during the visit by Gilani, who met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao earlier in the week.

China is Pakistan's main arms supplier and a close ally of Islamabad. Pakistan's air force has a fleet of Chinese aircraft, including F-7PGs and A-5s, but also F-16s and French Mirages.

The neighbours began developing the JF-17 together in 1999 and Pakistan has said it wants 250 of the jets.

In November last year, Islamabad said it would buy Chinese missiles and flight systems for the jets, Chinese state media reported.

Pakistan had initially planned on arming the JF-17 with missiles made by French firm Thales SA, but French officials told AFP last year that the deal had been put on hold without explanation.

pool-sst/jah

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News