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KARACHI: Pakistan entered into agreements worth $364 million to sell arms with two private US military companies last year. These weapons were allegedly sent to Ukraine for its war with Russia, BBC Urdu has claimed.
According to the report published on Monday, the contracts were signed with “Global Military” and “Northrop Grumman” for the sale of 155mm shells.
According to the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, the shells could be fired from artillery Howitzer M1, M1A1, M114, M-198 and M-109 A2.
Citing details of the contracts from the American Federal Procurement Data System, the report claimed these weapons were bought from Pakistan. The contracts were signed in August 2022 and specifically linked to the purchase of 155mm shells.
BBC Urdu claims deals for 155mm shells worth $364m
It added that a $232m contract was awarded to Global Military while another $131m contract was signed with Northrop Grumman. “These agreements expired last month, i.e. October 2023,” BBC Urdu said.
The report alleged that the deliveries were made in a British military cargo plane which landed at the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi five times.
“Each time, the plane flew from Nur Khan Airbase to the British military base in Cyprus and then to Romania, that too at a time when Russia was waging war in Romania’s neighbouring country Ukraine,” BBC Urdu claimed.
It also shared State Bank of Pakistan data showing that the country’s arms exports increased by 3,000 per cent during FY2022-23.
“Pakistan exported arms worth $13m in 2021-22, while these exports reached $415m in 2022-23,” it stated.
The report also quoted a document of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is a US Department of Defence funding programme designed to increase Ukraine’s defence capability against Russia.
The claims of ammunition supplied by Pakistan being used on the battlefield by Ukraine have been made in the past as well.
But the Foreign Office denied any sale of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, saying Pakistan maintained a “strict neutrality” policy in the dispute between the two countries and did not provide them with any arms or ammunition in that context.
In an opinion piece for the Washington Post earlier this year, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar denied these allegations. He, however, alluded that the weapons might have found their way on the battlefield through the black market.
Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2023
