Islamabad, Sep 20 (IANS): The US government will give 160 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, and spare and repair parts worth 198 million dollars to Pakistan, a media report said Saturday.

The US State Department has approved the sale of 160 MRAP vehicles, spare and repair parts to Pakistan at an estimated cost of $198 million, Dawn Saturday quoted the US' Defence Security Cooperation Agency as saying in a release.

The state department's nod comes as Pakistan is engaged in Operation Zarb-i-Azb, a military offensive in the northwest tribal region of North Waziristan, and has also launched action against insurgents in Khyber Agency, a tribal area in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas region.

There will neither be any adverse impact on its own defence readiness as a result of this sale nor will the basic military balance in the region be affected, the US said in the release.

Instead, the sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the US “by helping to improve the security of a country vital of US foreign policy and national security goals in South Asia”, it added.