'Everything Will Be Forgiven' How Secret Arms Deal With US For Ukraine Helped Pakistan Get IMF Loan: Report
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US bought arms and ordinance from Pakistan to give them to Ukraine in exchange of IMF bailout. IMF bailout helped Pakistan avert economic crisis. The deal says Pakistan supplied weapons to Ukraine until the Spring of 2023
A secret arms deal with the United States helped Pakistan to secure the bailout from the International Monetary Fund, a report said on Sunday citing internal government documents.
Intercept reported that Pakistan sold arms to the US, which were to be sent to Ukraine, confirming the role of Pakistan in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Apart from the bailout, the IMF also made Pakistan promise to carry a string of major structural reforms, which has triggered various protests across the nation in past weeks.
The protests are the latest development in the 18-month long political crisis of Pakistan. Last year in April, the Pakistani military ousted the former PM Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote.
Before Khan was removed from office, the US State Department officials had told their counterparts in Pakistan that their stance on the Russia-Ukraine war under the leadership of Khan was dangerously neutral and that he cannot continue as the PM. The US also told the Pakistan military to remove Khan otherwise there will be consequences.
After the removal of Khan, Pakistan has become a major supporter of the US in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for which they have been rewarded in the form of a loan from the IMF. The emergency loan also helped the new Pakistani government to avoid the economic crisis and delay the elections indefinitely.
It also helped the government under leadership of Shehbaz Sharif to crack down on Imran Khan and his supporters.
“Pakistani democracy may ultimately be a casualty of Ukraine's counteroffensive,” said Arif Rafiq, a Pakistan specialist and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute.
The world sees Pakistan as a production hub for the basic ammunition required in the Russia-Ukraine. Several reports of open-source news outlets have suggested that the Ukrainian army is using munitions and ordinances produced by Pakistan. But neither Pakistan nor the US has confirmed this secret agreement.
Government Documents In Pakistan
The report further cites Pakistan internal government documents which talk about the deal with the US under which the munitions were provided from summer of 2022 till the spring of 2023.
The documents further suggest that the deal was facilitated by Global Military Products, a subsidiary of controversial arms dealer Global Ordinance.
Global Ordinance has been in the news for its relations with some questionable figures of Ukraine.
The retrieved documents also reveal a trail of money and discussions with US officials. Discussions about American and Pakistani contracts and licensing. Some requisition documents are also cited which are linked to the US-brokered arms deal between Ukraine and Pakistan.
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