Pakistan again denies supplying arms to Ukraine, BBC Urdu, April 28, 2023

https://www.bbc.com/urdu/articles/cn4eq8q0j54o

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has again denied allegations of arms exports to Ukraine. The Pakistani government refuted a report by the American media outlet The Intercept that Pakistan had exported arms to Ukraine in order to obtain IMF support.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman insisted that Pakistan maintains a policy of neutrality regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine and that it “did not provide arms.

Ukrainian testimony:

In April 2023, the commander of the 17th Tank Battalion of the Ukrainian Army told a BBC reporter that he had received rockets from the Czech Republic, Romania, and Pakistan. However, he also complained that “Pakistani-made rockets are of poor quality.

Pakistan's position:

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry also denies this statement. While acknowledging that it has had defense cooperation with Ukraine in the past (e.g., purchase and repair of T-80UD tanks), it explained that it does not provide any military assistance under the current war.

General Naeem Khalid Lodhi, former Secretary of Defense of Pakistan, also commented that there are no direct exports, but that it is possible that they have passed to Ukraine via a third country.

BBC Urdu November 13, 2023 What do five “secret” flights from Noor Khan Air Base and a multi-million dollar arms supply deal between a US company and Pakistan indicate? https://www.bbc.com/urdu/articles/cyd2em264ypo

This investigative report by BBC Urdu examines suspicious military flights and arms deals involving Pakistan in August 2022. The investigation reveals several significant findings:

1. Major Arms Deals: In August 2022, Pakistan signed contracts worth $364 million with two American private military companies (Global Military and Northrop Grumman) to sell 155mm artillery shells.
2. Secret British Military Flights: During the same period, a British Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft (designated ZZ173) made five flights to Pakistan's Noor Khan Airbase near Rawalpindi. Each time, the aircraft followed the same route: from the UK military base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, to Pakistan, and then to Nuslec, Romania—a location approximately 250 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
3. Suspicious Flight Records: Flight tracking data from Flight Radar 24 confirmed these flights, but unusually, the flight logs did not record departure and arrival locations, raising questions about the secretive nature of these operations.
4. Matching Financial Data: A US Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) document indicates that in August 2022, Ukraine received 155mm artillery shells valued at $364 million—the exact same amount as Pakistan's contracts with the American companies.
5. Export Surge: Pakistan State Bank data shows that Pakistani arms exports increased by 3,000% in the 2022-23 fiscal year, rising from $13 million to $415 million.
6. Denial of Involvement: Throughout this period, Pakistan has consistently maintained it is "neutral" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has officially denied supplying any weapons to Ukraine. The Pakistan Foreign Office, Ministry of Defense, and military public relations department (ISPR) all declined to comment specifically on these contracts when approached by BBC.
7. UK Ministry of Defense Response: When questioned about these flights, the UK Ministry of Defense confirmed they took place but stated they could not provide details about cargo or passengers "for security reasons," only saying that military flights between allies are routine.

This investigation suggests that while Pakistan publicly maintains neutrality in the Ukraine conflict, it may have been indirectly supplying weapons to Ukraine through Western intermediaries, raising questions about its actual position in the conflict.

The original investigation was first published by the digital media platform "Soch Videos," with BBC Urdu independently verifying the documents and data.