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THE SWEDISH GOVERNMENT on July 7, 2004, finally ended speculation that Pakistan might be permitted to buy five squadrons (60 aircraft) of Saab-BAE JAS-39 Gripen fighter aircraft. The matter had, in recent years, been investigated thoroughly by both the Pakistan Government as well as the British and Swedish companies involved in the aircraft's manufacture, and all parties had agreed that a sale of the fourth-generation Gripen to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was unlikely. The matter was raised again, however, with the change of Pakistan's status with regard to the US following Islamabad's cooperation with the US Government, making it a "major non-NATO ally".
The July 2004 visit to Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland by Pakistan Pres. Pervez Musharraf triggered Pakistani press reports that the PAF was to acquire the Gripens. However, Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds said after her talks with Pres. Musharraf, in Stockholm on July 6,2004: "There is no question of selling them weapons or anything directly related...