While the US defence ministry was unaware of the "F-16 count", the US State Department distanced itself from the "F-16 count" news report, saying in response to a direct request to confirm or deny it, “As a matter of policy, the Department does not publicly comment on details of government-to-government agreements on end-use monitoring of US-origin defence articles.” and highlighted that “It is important to note that since January 2018, the United States government has suspended security assistance to Pakistan”.