Pakistan dismisses ‘secret’ Ukraine arms deal report

FO says Islamabad maintains strict neutrality in dispute

ISLAMABAD:

The Foreign Office on Monday vehemently rejected claims that Pakistan agreed to supply weapons to Ukraine in return for securing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in July, saying the country maintained a “policy of strict neutrality”.

The rebuttal came after The Intercept, a US publication, claimed in its latest report that Pakistan supplied weapons to Ukraine via the United States in order to secure the IMF deal.

The publication backed its claims by two sources with knowledge of the arrangement, saying that internal documents from both the Pakistani and American governments confirm the development.

"These arms sales were intended to supply the Ukrainian military, hence, forcing Pakistan to take a side in the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” it claimed.

The standby agreement signed in July with the IMF allowed Pakistan to avoid a potential default as its foreign reserves were depleting fast.

Responding to media queries on the latest Intercept story alleging the sale of Pakistani weapons to Ukraine to get the IMF bailout package for Pakistan, Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch rejected the story as “baseless and fabricated”.

“The IMF Standby Arrangement for Pakistan was successfully negotiated between Pakistan and the IMF to implement difficult but essential economic reforms. Giving any other colour to these negotiations is disingenuous.

“Pakistan maintains a policy of strict neutrality in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia and in that context, does not provide any arms and ammunition to them. Pakistan’s defence exports are always accompanied with strict end user requirements,” she added.

In the past such reports also published claiming Pakistan was supplying weapons to Ukraine through a third country. However, both Pakistan and Ukraine denied such an agreement.

In July, the Ukrainian foreign minister undertook a first ever visit to Pakistan. During the visit both countries denied having entered into any arrangement that envisaged Pakistan supplying weapons to Ukraine against the backdrop of Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian foreign minister, however, said his country wanted Pakistan to be on his side. Pakistan has tried to tread carefully since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite immense pressure, Pakistan refused to vote on a UN resolution condemning Russia. Islamabad has abstained from voting on all occasions.

The US and European countries, nevertheless, wanted Pakistan to take a more clear stance on the Russian invasion.

Officials said Pakistan always adhered to the policy of maintaining neutrality in such situations.

The latest claims, however, reignited a debate whether Pakistan had accommodated the US quietly while taking a different stance publically.

Intercept report

The report stated that the IMF bailout package has led to severe structural policies and high inflation in Pakistan, resulting in widespread protests by various groups, unaware that their current plight is a result of decisions made by the country's financial and political elites, which also support a foreign war.

In April 2022, former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted from power through a no-confidence vote.

State Department diplomats expressed their dissatisfaction with Pakistan's supposedly neutral stance on the Ukraine conflict under Khan's leadership and warned of consequences if he remained in power, said the US publication.

After Khan's ouster, Pakistan became a valuable ally to the US and its allies in the war, and this support was allegedly rewarded with the IMF bailout.

This emergency loan allowed the new government to delay elections and launch a nationwide crackdown on civil society, ultimately leading to Khan's imprisonment, elaborated the publication and added that the future of democracy looks bleak in Pakistan.

Pakistan is known for producing basic munitions used in protracted conflicts, and report suggested that Ukrainian forces have used Pakistani-produced munitions and other ordnance. However, neither the US nor Pakistan has officially acknowledged this arrangement.

Leaked documents detailing the arms transactions were provided to The Intercept by an anonymous source within the Pakistani military. Some of these documents were authenticated through various means, including matching signatures and reviewing publicly available Pakistani disclosures of arms sales to the US.

According to the publication, the arms deals were brokered by Global Military Products, a subsidiary of Global Ordnance.

The economic capital and political support garnered from the arms sales played a significant role in securing the IMF bailout, it said, adding that the State Department reportedly informed the IMF about the undisclosed weapons deal as part of the agreement.

According to the report, critics argue that Pakistan's democracy is at risk due to its involvement in the Ukraine conflict and the subsequent IMF bailout.

In May 2023, Pakistani Ambassador to the US Masood Khan met with Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu to discuss how Pakistani arms sales to Ukraine could improve

Pakistan's financial position with the IMF, it claimed. The US agreed to inform the IMF confidentially about the arms programme, which was believed to be worth $900 million.

This funding would help fill a gap in the IMF financing requirement, it maintained.