In a comprehensive report published on Tuesday, BBC Urdu claimed that Pakistan materialized a substantial arms sales agreement worth $364 million with two private US companies last year.
The weapons in question were purportedly dispatched to Ukraine to support its war with Russia.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis unfolded in 2022, marked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion order on February 24.
The Foreign Office promptly refuted any claims of arms and ammunition sales to Ukraine, asserting that Pakistan maintained a policy of “strict neutrality” in the dispute between the two nations, thereby denying any provision of military support.
The reported contracts were said to have been signed in August 2022, a period when the Ukraine crisis dominated the political discourse in Pakistan. Notably, this was after Imran Khan’s visit to Moscow as prime minister on the day of the invasion. Months later, Gen Bajwa publicly called for an immediate halt to the invasion.
The BBC Urdu reports contradicts official statements, asserting that Pakistan inked two contracts with American companies, namely “Global Military” and “Northrop Grumman,” for the sale of 155mm shells.
According to details from the American Federal Procurement Data System, the report alleged that these weapons were procured from Pakistan, with contracts signed in August 2022 specifically linked to the purchase of 155mm shells. The contracts reportedly amounted to $232 million with Global Military and $131 million with Northrop Grumman, both expiring in October 2023.
The deliveries, as per the report, were purportedly made via a British military cargo plane from the Nur Khan Air Base, landing in Rawalpindi on five occasions.
In further support of its claims, BBC Urdu cited data from the State Bank of Pakistan, indicating a staggering 3,000% increase in the country’s arms exports during FY2022-23. The report stated that Pakistan’s arms exports surged from $13 million in 2021-22 to $415 million in 2022-23.
Additionally, the report referenced a document from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, a US Department of Defense funding program aimed at enhancing Ukraine’s defense capabilities against Russia.
This document reportedly revealed contracts related to the supply of 155mm shells to Ukraine in August 2022, mirroring the value of the contracts with Global Military and Northrop Grumman to Pakistan during the same period.
It is crucial to note that these alleged transactions occurred during the tenure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a multi-party coalition that ousted the Imran Khan-led government through a no-trust vote in April last year. At the time, the Army chief was Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retired in November 2022.
