Pakistan is increasingly confident of making billion-dollar arms sales, headlined by JF-17 fighters co-produced with China, as up to six Muslim-majority countries look to upgrade their air forces amid growing geopolitical turbulence and civil wars.
A preliminary deal worth US$4 billion for an unspecified number of JF-17s and other training aircraft manufactured by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex was struck last month with the Libyan National Army, according to Reuters reports citing Aamir Masood, an unofficial spokesman for Pakistan’s military.
The regime, backed by Egypt , Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates , controls Libya’s east. It rivals the internationally recognised Islamist government based in the capital Tripoli, which is supported by Qatar and Turkey.
Masood, a retired Pakistan Air Force air marshal, has also described a prospective US$1.5 billion sale of light attack aircraft, surveillance and suicide drones – and possibly JF-17s – to Sudan ’s military government as a “done deal”. This would boost Khartoum’s prospects of gaining a decisive edge over the rebel Rapid Support Forces.
Pakistan is also discussing a US$4 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia , according to Masood. Both countries signed a mutual defence pact in September, soon after Israeli warplanes bombed Hamas negotiators in Qatar .
Islamabad has reportedly proposed a US$2 billion arms-for-debt component, which might include Riyadh financing the Sudan deal. The proposal is politically complicated because, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt support the military regime, the UAE backs the Rapid Support Forces.