Shut Off From U.S. Market, Pakistan in Talks with Russia for Procurement of Sophisticated Arms: Report

Pakistan is in direct talks with the Russia for the procurement of sophisticated military hardware, including air defence systems, fighter jets and battle tanks, a media report said today.

Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan confirmed that Islamabad was interested in buying weapons from Moscow in an interview to the Russian news agency Sputnik, The Express Tribune reported. "Air defence system is a different kind of weapon we are interested. We are very much interested in a very wide range of the Russian weapons technology. We are in negotiations [on air defence systems] and once we conclude negotiations, we will be able to announce them," Khan said.

The defence minister also outlined that Islamabad was interested in acquiring T-90 tanks from Moscow as part of a long-term deal rather than committing itself to a single purchase. "We are interested in tanks T-90 and it is not going to be a one-time purchase but it is going to be a long-term commitment," Khan was quoted as saying by the agency.

He added that negotiations for the purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets are in their early stages, and an agreement in this regard may be reached "in the next few years", according to the Russian website.

The Pakistani military establishment's interest in Russia's military portfolio is in light of the U.S. decision to cut nearly all American security aid to Pakistan. The country’s defense minister had announced earlier this year that Islamabad would begin purchasing more weapons from China, Russia and other Eastern European countries.

Franz-Stefan Gady writes for The Diplomat that,"Russia lifted a longstanding arms embargo against Pakistan in 2014 and has been seeking closer defense ties with Islamabad ever since. This has been accelerated by India’s burgeoning defense relationship with the United States and the Russian defense industry’s loss of market share in India, although Moscow remains by far New Delhi’s biggest military hardware supplier overall.  Given the importance of the Indian market to the Russian defense industry, Moscow has to walk a careful balancing act in its dealings with the two South Asia rivals and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future."

Pakistan is also looking beyond Russia and has purchased hardware from China, Italy and is also considering Turkish Aerospace Industries for its future requirements as U.S.-Pakistan relations do not seem to have a prospect of improving in the near future.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2018 10:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).