China now fulfils the bulk of Pakistan’s defence requirements, supplying more than 80 per cent of its military hardware, Muhammad Mehdi, chairman of the Institute of International Relations and Media Research, said at a gathering in Washington on Saturday
Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Pakistani American National Institute (PANI), Mr Mehdi noted that the United States had not supplied military hardware to Pakistan for the past two decades.
“Pakistan’s reliance on Chinese arms has grown steadily,” he said, adding that independent assessments, including those by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), confirmed that more than 80 per cent of Pakistan’s arms imports in the last five years came from China.
On the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the IIRMR chairman acknowledged that the multibillion-dollar initiative had slowed down during the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan. “It was not terminated,” he said, attributing the delay to political reasons. “Security concerns are also a major challenge, even though China has already invested about $26 billion in CPEC projects.”
Mr Mehdi underlined that debate within Pakistan about the country’s foreign alignments persisted. “There are still reservations in some quarters about moving too close to China. Many believe Pakistan’s culture, traditions and history align more with the West,” he remarked.
He told the audience that during his engagements with American scholars, journalists and policymakers in Washington, he observed significant curiosity about the evolving China-Pakistan relationship.
In his welcoming address, PANI chairman Faiz Rehman, a senior journalist and community leader, highlighted the value of dialogue and exchange of ideas between nations.
The luncheon, held in Mr Mehdi’s honour, was attended by Mowahid Shah, Dr Hassan Abbas, Fauzia Kasuri, Danial Kasuri, former senator Dr Akbar Khawja, and Afshan Khawja, among others.