Pakistan 11th biggest weapons importer in the world, arch-rival India at 2nd

• China, Russia, and Italy were the key weapon suppliers to Pakistan in 2015-19, says the report.
• China accounted for 51pc of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010–14 and for 73pc in 2015–19.
• Pakistan accounted for 2.6 percent of global arms imports during 2015-19.

Pakistan was placed as the eleventh largest arms importer in the world, with arch-rival India second on the list, as per the new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on Monday.

As per SIPRI’s latest report, China, Russia, and Italy were the key weapon suppliers to Pakistan, the country accounted for 2.6 percent of global arms imports during 2015-19. The country was the main recipient (35 percent) of Chinese weapons in 2015–19

“Between 2010–14 and 2015–19, arms imports by India and Pakistan decreased by 32 and 39 percent, respectively. While both countries have long-standing aims to produce their own major arms, they remain largely dependent on imports and have substantial outstanding orders and plans for imports of all types of major arms,” said the report.

As per the report, China accounted for 51pc of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010–14 and for 73pc in 2015–19. “The overall decrease in Pakistan’s arms imports was linked to the USA’s decision to stop military aid to Pakistan. The USA accounted for 30pc of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010–14 but for only 4.1pc in 2015–19. Pakistan continued to import arms from European states in 2015–19 and also strengthened its arms import relations with Turkey with orders for 30 combat helicopters and 4 frigates in 2018.”

Meanwhile, the five largest suppliers of arms during that period—the USA, Russia, France, Germany, and China—accounted for 76 percent of all arms exports. The top five in 2015–19 has their combined total exports of major arms were 9.5 percent higher.