- Citing Pakistan’s support for terrorist organizations and chances of sensitive technological transfer to China, India has urged France to advocate for a ban on EU’s weapon sales to Pakistan.
- France has also assured India of not transferring sensitive weapons and defence systems to Pakistan.
- India shared information about Pakistan’s support to terrorism-related activities in various places in India.
France has recently taken over the EU presidency which it will hold till June 2022. Citing Pakistan’s support for terrorist organizations and chances of sensitive technological transfer to China, India has urged France to advocate for a ban on EU’s weapon sales to Pakistan.
France has been a trustworthy friend and a dependable strategic ally of India. It has previously supported India’s stand on border conflict with China and its actions against the terrorists operating from the safe havens in Pakistan. In the past, France has also assured India of not transferring sensitive weapons and defence systems to Pakistan.
According to an ET report, India made this request to France during the meeting of the Defence Ministers of both countries, i.e. Rajnath Singh and Florence Parly, which was held last month in New Delhi. The Indian side also brought forward the concerns of a collaborative working of the state and non-state actors in Pakistan. The Modi government shared information about Pakistan’s support to terrorism-related activities in various places in India. Also, several instances were conveyed where the weapons supplied by foreign and EU states were found in the hands of terrorist organizations.
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The poor human rights records of Pakistan and its nexus with rouge and extremist elements within the Pakistani society were also raised by India. India pointed out the instances where the civilian leaders, journalists, politicians, and activists were targeted by the security agencies of Pakistan. Apart from these, Indian also raised the concern of a possible transfer of secret and sensitive technologies to China, which is the so-called all-weather friend of Pakistan.
When it comes to Pakistan’s arms imports, China is by far its biggest supplier of advanced and modern military equipment like fighter jets, submarines, warships etc. Russia is its second-largest supplier. But Moscow has quite well balanced its relations with India and Pakistan by making sure that it only supplies advanced and latest military equipment to India and not to Pakistan. Among the EU states, Italy is the largest supplier of arms to Pakistan, followed by Sweden.
Earlier also there were demands from various corners to sanction Pakistan for its support to terrorist organizations. Among the most recent ones is the Oct 2020 incident when the French MEP Jordan Bardella demanded the EU parliament to place heavy sanctions on Pakistan. This demand was made at a time when France and many other EU states were experiencing terrorist attacks like the one in Paris, Vienna or the unfortunate Charlie Hebdo incident.