ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has officially dismissed any discussion regarding arms supply during a recent telephone conversation between the defense ministers of Pakistan and Ukraine.
The Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, emphasized that Pakistan adheres to a policy of not providing arms to regions in conflict and has neither supplied nor intends to supply arms to Ukraine.
Therefore, the topic of arms supply was not part of the telephonic discussion between the two defense ministers on November 7, 2023.
Furthermore, Pakistan has consistently advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine, maintaining a delicate balance in its stance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
Despite pressure from the US and its Western allies, Pakistan has refrained from publicly condemning Russia and twice abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution against Russia.
In response to a recent Intercept news story alleging the sale of Pakistani weapons to Ukraine in exchange for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared the story baseless and fabricated.
The spokesperson emphasized that the IMF Standby Arrangement was negotiated between Islamabad and the IMF to implement crucial economic reforms, and any other interpretation of these negotiations is disingenuous.
