ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday rejected a media report regarding the alleged sale of Pakistani weapons to Ukraine to get the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package.
A report published by The Intercept claimed that Islamabad reportedly engaged in ‘secret’ arms sales to the United States as part of a controversial bailout deal with the IMF earlier this year.
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.
Responding to media queries regarding the issue, FO 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,” she added.
Baloch said that 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 concluded.
