How Pakistan and China are cosying up to Putin’s Russia and yet don’t mind arming Ukraine

A small item in the media and a Twitter post went virtually unnoticed. The media report reflected what had been said on a Twitter account called the Intel Consortium. Its detailed post said that the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) was transporting unknown goods from Pakistan to Romania almost on a daily basis. Since Romania is a staging ground for logistics for Ukraine, the dots were not hard to connect. The tweet has since been deleted, as has the flight logs on it. But a search on flight tracking websites proves this to have been entirely correct. It also acquires a certain truth, given Pakistani policy over the years to provide anything and everything asked of it, especially at a moment of economic crisis.

The ‘air bridge’ and mysterious flights

The flights itself involved a C-17A Globemaster, with a capacity of 77,000 kg which was tracked flying to Romania, via the RAF’s Akrotiri base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus with these continuing at least since 6 August. The same Globemaster aircraft was then observed in Pakistani airspace flying from Cyprus to the Pakistan Air Force’s Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi. When the story is verified from the receiving end, it appears that delivery of some 75,000 rounds of badly needed artillery was promised to Ukraine. This included 155 mm artillery ammunition and 20,000 rounds of 120 mm mortar ammunition. Both are produced by Pakistan Ordnance Factories, the former with Chinese assistance.

In addition, Pakistani sources note that the country bought some 320 Ukrainian tanks in 1996, and thereafter has upgraded them, therefore having an end to end capability to provide for the T-80UD tanks. It needs to be said that unlike India, Pakistan’s Ordnance Factory has a formidable array of products, that includes small-calibre ammunition for weapons used by the Ukrainian military as standard issue. If this is indeed being delivered that it’s rather more than a surprise given loud declamations echoing the Chinese position on Ukraine, and supporting Russia.

Running with the hare in the UK

Only it’s not a surprise at all. Pakistan has been well-known to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds on many occasions. In terms of the present incident which involves the UK, Islamabad has long been the preferred partner, providing London with critical intelligence on the movements of its large Mirpuri origin population that moves to and fro from Pakistan. The UK’s period of severe terrorist attacks which culminated in the London train attacks of 2005 — when three of the bombers were children of Pakistani immigrants — led to a stronger intelligence relationship that led to a triumph; the decimation of yet another 9/11 plan originating again between London and Pakistan in 2006. Since then intel cooperation has only increased.

British intel has, however, had to deal with a rather more than difficult partner. For one, Rawalpindi used British to target enemies abroad like Ahmad Waqas Goraya — who was targeted in Europe — but also launched persistent incessant threats against courageous dissidents sheltering there. Even as the UK trained Pakistani intelligence officers, cooperation had serious difficulties. A Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons reports that Pakistanis shielded terrorists it needed (like Rashid Rauf implicated in a 2006 Heathrow bombing  and who miraculously ‘escaped’ from Pakistani custody) and ‘manipulated’ intelligence to suit itself.

…And hunting with the hounds for cash

The ugliest and most expensive in human and financial costs, was Pakistan’s decadal dual policies in Afghanistan that saw it support the Taliban, even while it received some $33 billion in US aid (2002-18) of which $14 billion was in ‘reimbursements’ for services and goods rendered. The sheer corruption that was endemic to this ‘reimbursement’ was only later pointed out by US agencies. But the fact that Pakistan supported terrorists, all the while killing US servicemen and raising the costs to the US is acknowledged in various Congressional reports, with however a degree of helplessness that remains. Pakistan therefore “remains one of America’s largest recipients of foreign assistance”, according to USAID .

While Pakistan’s support to terrorism remains a topic of public discussion, far less examined in terms of detailing is the whole infamous “ AQ Khan network”, named after Abdul Qadeer Khan popularly known as the ‘father ’of its nuclear programme. This rested on first stealing technology from the Dutch, and then later passing it on to anyone, including Iran and China, for which the latter then provided Islamabad with its first tranche of bomb grade uranium.

A declassified intelligence report, heavily redacted, indicates that US intelligence was aware of ‘technology exchange’ between the two, at a time when Islamabad was also happily receiving US aid. That’s not all. Islamabad then went on to provide covert nuclear assistance to a number of countries including Libya, Iran and possibly Saudi Arabia. Certainly, in 1999 Saudi Defense Minister, Prince Sultan bin Abdelaziz al-Saud visited some of its most secret nuclear facilities, the first ( and only ) time that any foreign visitor had done so. The visit was never explained, but led thereafter to generous aid from the Kingdom. As always, cash down and anything that anyone may desire.

In terms of the present air-bridge from Pakistan to Ukraine’s neighbourhood, it is hardly a secret that the US and its partners have been scouting the world for Russian-origin weaponry, to keep Kyiv’s war machine going. As such therefore, the provision of ammunition or weapons by Pakistan cannot be wholly condemned. It is also true that countries will often act in ways that are contrary to their public stance. For instance, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Vladimir Putin seem to have quietly exchanged letters indicating a proximity that was underlined by Imran Khan’s disastrous visit to Moscow on the day it attacked Ukraine. What is condemnable is that the whole exercise is aimed not at strengthening the country, but at giving more contacts, money and muscle to the reigning Pakistan Army. The extremes to which it is willing to go is unparalleled, given that it sheltered the world’s No.1 terrorist Osama bin Laden for years, and later Ayman al-Zawahari.

At present however, what is of interest is that if Pakistan had indeed sold 155mm ammunition to the Ukrainians, it has the Chinese to thank for its production. It only remains to see whether Beijing accords this with a ‘higher than the mountains’ reaction.

So, despite its cosying up to Russia, Pakistan still plays by the Western rulebook. As for the Dragon, it continues to remain hydra-headed, simultaneously being with Russia and the West.

The author is a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. She tweets @kartha_tara. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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