The comments seemed designed to open new political possibilities for advancing Pakistan's stalled 15-year quest for the F-16 fighters and to strike a contrast with India, which has opposed the sale to Islamabad.
But United States officials said India's interest might not be serious and complicated Bush administration decision-making. Pakistan was a key US ally in the war on terrorism and India was a key US market and technology partner, they added.
"We don't want to create an arms race with our own sales in South Asia," one US official said, speaking anonymously.
But former chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Karamat said: "We accept the (conventional arms) imbalance, which is there between India and Pakistan. What we will do and continue to do is keep that imbalance at a state which we consider manageable from our point of view."
India, long dependent on Russian-made armaments, recently expressed interest in American-made military aircraft and top US defence firms are promoting their wares this week at Aero India, the industry air show in Bangalore.
There, a senior executive with Lockheed Martin Corp said his company is in talks to sell its C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft and P-3C Orion naval spy planes to India.
India also has sought preliminary information in efforts to buy Lockheed's F-16 fighter jets. Under the US law, Congress must approve government to government arms sales.
Diplomatic sources said India's interest in US fighters made sense because ties between the two countries improved dramatically in recent years and sophisticated arms sales would add "ballast" to burgeoning trade.
But some US officials doubt India is serious about buying American, especially when there are other producers like France and Sweden, and when New Delhi remains concerned that American supplies could be interrupted by possible sanctions.