Vishwakhabram: How did Pakistan earn 364 million dollars by seeing the opportunity in Russia-Ukraine war?

The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for 650 days. Obviously these two countries cannot fight a war for such a long time on the strength of their weapons alone. To continue fighting the war, there is an immediate need for military equipment and it cannot be supplied by our own production, hence it is natural to take help from other countries. If seen, in the Russia-Ukraine war, it is not hidden from anyone that America and NATO countries are heavily supplying weapons to Ukraine, while on the other hand, Russia continued purchasing military equipment from China, North Korea, Iran and other helpful countries. Is. The weapons being supplied to Ukraine are mainly being arranged by America. It is America that convinces NATO countries to give all types of war material to Ukraine and it is America that is procuring weapons from needy countries and sending them to Ukraine. If seen, the Russia-Ukraine war has given new life to the global arms industry which is going through a recession. At present the situation is such that various countries are openly supplying weapons to Russia and Ukraine and some countries, claiming to be neutral, are secretly looking for opportunities for themselves in this disaster. One such country is Pakistan, which is claiming to adopt a neutral stance in the Russia-Ukraine war to show the world, but the reality is that it is taking full advantage of the opportunity.

It is being told that Pakistan, which is facing economic crisis, has earned 364 million US dollars last year by making an arms deal with two private American companies to supply weapons to Ukraine in the ongoing war with Russia. A British military cargo plane took off a total of five times from the Pakistan Air Force’s Noor Khan base in Rawalpindi to Cyprus, the British military base in Akrotiri and then to Romania to supply weapons to Ukraine, BBC Urdu reported. However, Pakistan has consistently denied that it has provided arms to Romania’s neighboring country Ukraine.

The BBC report, citing contract details obtained from the US Federal Procurement Data System, claims that Pakistan has signed two contracts with American companies “Global Military” and “Northrop Grumman” for the sale of 155 mm artillery shells. contract signed. The news said that these agreements to provide arms to Ukraine were signed on August 17, 2022 and were specifically related to the purchase of 155 mm artillery shells. Citing further evidence to support its claims, BBC Urdu said State Bank of Pakistan data also shows that the country’s arms exports have increased by 3,000 percent during fiscal year 2022-23. BBC news said that Pakistan exported arms worth 13 million US dollars in 2021-22, while in 2022-23 this export reached 415 million US dollars.

It is said that these agreements were made during the rule of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Let us remind you that PDM, a coalition of various parties, had toppled the Imran Khan-led government through a no-confidence vote in April last year. On the other hand, Pakistan has said that it has not provided arms to Ukraine or Russia as it is neutral in the conflict between the two countries. Speaking at the weekly press conference on the alleged sale of arms to Ukraine through a third country, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “I confirm that as we have said in the past, Pakistan We have not sold arms to Ukraine or Russia because we have adopted a policy of neutrality in this conflict. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan is not in a position to confirm what weapons are being used by both sides in the conflict.

However, Pakistan may repeatedly reiterate that it has maintained a policy of “strict neutrality” in the Russia-Ukraine dispute and has not provided any arms or ammunition to both the countries in this war, but no one is denying this. Will not believe the thing. There have been many such occasions in the past when Pakistan’s dual attitude has been seen. At present, Pakistan is facing the biggest economic crisis in its history, in such a situation it cannot be imagined that it will let go of any earning opportunity and will remain firm on its policy or principles.