Did Pakistan really sell arms to US for Ukraine war?
Pakistan secretly sold arms to the US for use in Ukraine war and the US in response helped Pakistan secure the much-needed bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says a report by The Intercept.
The move apparently brought Pakistan into the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The US had pressurised Pakistan to take sides with Ukraine, but the then Prime Minister Imran Khan had refused to do so.
Later, Khan was removed from power, allegedly through a US-backed regime change operation, and a coalition was installed in the country. This ruling coalition of 13 parties led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif succumbed to the US pressure and agreed to sell weapons to the US for use in the Ukraine war.
According to The Intercept, Pakistani Ambassador to the US Masood Khan met US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu at the State Department in Washington on May 23, 2023, for a meeting about how Pakistani arms sales to Ukraine could shore up its financial position in the eyes of the IMF.
The goal of the meeting was to hash out details of the arrangement ahead of an upcoming meeting in Islamabad between US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome and then-Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office rejected The Intercept report. FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told the media the report was “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,”
