ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is ready to expand its arms exports, with an eventualgoal of selling $1 billion worth of defense equipment every year, reportsNikkeilinkAsianReview.
A senior Pakistani government official told the Nikkei Asian Review thatarms exports exceeded $210 million in the fiscal year through June. Thetotal represents a significant increase from the approximately $100 millionin arms sales two years earlier. Five years ago, the number was under $60million.
The report stated that the officials, who spoke on the condition ofanonymity, said that the uptrend is reflective of Pakistan’s drive forgreater weapons self-sufficiency. They declined to provide further detailsof what is driving the increase.
Pakistani officials, in-general, do not share figures related to nationaldefense or associated matters like types of weapons and exportdestinations, said the report. China has played a big part in increasingPakistan’s arms production. Together, China and Pakistan have manufacturedJF-17 “Thunder” fighter jets.
“The JF-17 has helped Pakistan lay the groundwork for self-sufficiency,”said retired Lt. Gen. Talat Masood, a former Pakistan military commanderand defense analyst quoted the report.
According to Masood, China has also helped Pakistan produce tanks. Inaddition, China has supported Pakistan’s air force through the JF-17project and its navy – with assistance in building warships and submarines.Masood added, “Pakistan is seeking to tap export markets.”
There is no specific arms export target for the coming years, buteventually Islamabad will like to reach that $1 billion threshold.
According to Nikkei, in 2016, Pakistan signed a deal with Myanmar for thesale of 16 JF-17 fighters. The dollar value of the contract has not beenpublicly revealed, but officials privately have said it was forapproximately $400 million, including spare parts. Pakistan has also soldthree JF-17s to Nigeria.
There have been other defense deals – in 2017, Turkey contracted to buy 52Super Mushshak training aircraft. A year later, Ankara agreed to buy 1,000PK-83 general-purpose bombs.
Analysts say collaboration with China has helped Pakistan improve itsability to produce advanced weapons. “Pakistan has graduated well beyondjust a manufacturer of small weapons,” a senior foreign ministry officialsaid. “We are now looking at big-ticket items.”
Nazir Hussain, a professor of international relations at Islamabad’sQuaid-i-Azam University, said that Pakistan now has strong potential tosignificantly raise its defense exports despite a global market that isdominated by the U.S. and other Western countries.
“Ultimately, Pakistan’s access to some of these markets will be limited,”Hussain said, adding that Islamabad will have to rely on countries withbudget constraints, such as in Africa.
Other sources with weapons-making experience say Pakistan can build acustomer base by staying the course.