NEW DELHI: India is likely to withdraw the refueling facilities it has granted to the United States Air Force planes according to Sunday Mail.
Indications are that the govt will fall back on a technicality to withdraw the facility under the present laws foreign military aircraft have to fulfill certain conditions for refueling.
What has put the govt in a quandary is that not a single USAF plane that was refueled in India since the Gulf war began was inspected. Neither is the Pentagon likely to grant such permission
If it is sought under the provisions Hence India would be well within its rights to withdraw the facility.
How the Bush administration would react is yet to be seen The US would be disappointed but may not regard it as an unfriendly action
Meanwhile the civil aviation ministry has instituted an enquiry into how and from where news photographers managed to take pictures of USAF planes parked at ‘Sahar AIR PORT in Bombay.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 15, 1991
