PAKISTAN is said to have obtained a huge supply of
arms from China to make up for its military disadvantage as it faces
India.
It is believed to have received a range of military hardware including
dozens of combat jets and an extensive missile system that has improved
preparedness for war.
After a meeting with President Musharraf yesterday, US senators said
that he was close to unveiling a “bold and principled” initiative aimed at
averting war over Kashmir. The nine-member delegation also said that
America was prepared for a long-term commitment to the region as part of
its global anti-terrorism campaign.
“I think the speech . . . is going to be critically important,” Joe
Lieberman, the former vice-presidential candidate, said. “I hope it will
lead to a de-escalation of tensions and perhaps even to a new chapter in
the relationship between Pakistan and India.”
A report in the English- language newspaper The News yesterday
quoted senior military officials as saying that China had sent five ships
loaded with unassembled combat aircraft and a variety of weapons last
month, after India’s unprecedented military build-up. China has also been
sending supplies via the Karakoram highway which links the two countries.
According to the report, Islamabad has acquired from China several
squadrons of Super 7 and F7 fighter aircraft and spare parts that have
strengthened Pakistan’s air defence.
Before the latest delivery India enjoyed an overwhelming superiority in
air power, having 738 combat aircraft to Pakistan’s 353. Delhi also has a
nearly fivefold advantage in transport aircraft and six times the number
of combat helicopters. In addition, India has 37 naval aircraft compared
with Pakistan’s five.
“Pakistan Air Force’s combat capability has increased with the addition
of several new squadrons of fighter jets,” a senior military official was
quoted as saying. He said that China had also helped to strengthen the
country’s missile system. But Aziz Khan, a Foreign Ministry spokesman,
denied that arms had been delivered from China.
Chinese leaders are said to have promised to rush military supplies to
Pakistan during General Musharraf’s visit to China at the height of the
tension with India on December 21. Pakistani military officials said that
the Indian Air Force’s aircraft were put on alert for an attack on
Pakistani-controlled Kashmir on December 21 and 22.
General Musharraf stopped in Beijing on Thursday on the way to
Kathmandu to attend the conference of South Asian nations and met Zhu
Rongji, the Chinese Prime Minister. A spokesman for the Pakistani
Government, Major-General Rashid Qureshi, said later that Chinese leaders
had assured Pakistan of their support “in all eventualities”.
China has been the main supplier of arms to its closest ally for many
years after America imposed an embargo on arms sales to Pakistan in 1990.
Beijing has also allegedly been co-operating in the development of
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme. Pakistan received support from China
during its previous two wars with India.
Sun Yuxi, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official, said in Beijing
yesterday that the traditional friendly relations between China and
Pakistan were not directed against any third country. He added that Mr Zhu
would press New Delhi to open talks with Pakistan over their border
dispute on his visit to India this week. The Chinese Prime Minister begins
an eight-day state visit to Bangladesh and India on Friday.
