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Pak woos CIS in bid to outsmart India militarily

Pakistan is actively wooing the Commonwealth of Independent States to tap their vast expertise in the military field particularly for avionics, missiles, laser-guided weapons and air-to-air refuelling and AWACS technology.

Official sources told the Asia Defence News International that Pakistan was devoting exclusive attention to establish friendlier relations with Uzbekistan which has a vast arsenal in nuclear warheads and technology.

Though these warheads were being neutralised under the influence of the United States, the technology in nuclear field was easily available.

Pakistan conducted five nuclear explosions last May following India'snuclear testing. Data collected by the world powers proved that three of the Pakistani tests were duds. So Pakistan was in a hurry to match India and was making a frantic a bid to secure nuclear weapons technology from Uzbekistan, the sources said.

According to the sources this new development was causing serious concern in New Delhi. Pakistan had reportedly secured nuclear technology from China, but the top brass of the Pakistani military was now of the opinion that Uzbek nuclear technology was far more advanced than China's.

The CIS, besides being rich in minerals, oil, industrial resources also possess a very strong defence potential. Each state is involved in some sort of major weapons programme.

Pakistan, the sources said, was trying to assume leadership of the group by virtue of its very large reservoir of trained human resources and defence personnel.

Its military personnel were actively involved in training programmes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Now this combined expertise would be extended to the former Soviet republics, and expertise in defence production available with these republics was intended to be exploited by Pakistan in a joint cooperative move.

The sources said this would create a new unhealthy nexus in the region which could be against the overall interest of India.

''If one looks at a map then this influence extends from China, Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkemenistan, Kazakhstan, Khirgistan, Uzbekistan right up to west Asian countries without a significant break. This alliance further helps these states tremendously as they will now have a round the year access to the open port of Karachi in the Arabian Sea leading to Indian Ocean. This sort of benefit would never have been available to them otherwise,'' the sources said.

They felt the most important outcome of all this would first show itself in the affairs of Kashmir. The Kashmir problem, which was already fanned by fundamental mercenaries from neighbouring countries, could now be joined by terrorists from the erstwhile Soviet states. It would not be out of place to say that Pakistan would attempt without much delay in finding a military solution to the Kashmir issue, the sources felt.

They claimed this alliance would add many industrial and commerce-related problems for India. It would affect the source of oil for India as these states with huge potential for oil export would have a very effective say among the other oil exporting states of the west Asia.

However, the sources said the most important outcome of all this, military industry-wise would be that in times to come, Soviet weapon systems for India could become hard to get if this alliance becomes a reality and works against India's interests with the Russian federation.

There was not only thawing of relationship between China and Russia, but Moscow was supplying its major weapon systems to China like Su-27 aircraft. This technology would soon find its way to the Kamra aviation complex of Pakistan, the sources said.

Any serious trouble with China at this juncture could influence Russia against India and cause serious problems in the supply of spares for military. As it is, the MiG 21 upgrade programme with Russia was facing a setback and India had considered Israel for help in this field, the sources said.

The reports suggested that both Pakistan and China now realised the benefit of military cooperation to not only neutralise India, but also to have their influence on all south-east and West Asian countries as well.

UNI

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