Israel was reported to have exported a number of military equipment purchased from Britain to Pakistan, but Islamabad denied the claim, with an Inter-Services Public Relations Office spokesman calling it “baseless”.
“The report is misleading and not based on fact,” he said.
The statement was made by an Israeli liberal newspaper. Haaretz citing a report from the UK government’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which oversees security exports.
“According to a government report, Israel has exported security equipment over the past five years to Pakistan and four Arab countries. The report, looking at British government approvals for the export of weapons and security equipment, states that in addition to Pakistan, Israel has exported such equipment to Egypt, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco,” the report said.
A BIS spokesman said there was no specific report on Israel’s exports of British security equipment to Pakistan, but it regularly published data on arms exports, including details of whether the weapons were destined for transfer to a third country. Haaretz This claim appears to have been based on evidence indicating that British components sold to Israel ended up in Pakistan. These included radar systems and parts for fighter aircraft.
The UK, however, refused to license systems that Israel intended to export to India, Russia, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
According to Haaretz From January 2008 to December 2012, British authorities processed hundreds of Israeli applications for the purchase of military products for use by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) or for the introduction of systems exported to third countries.
Among the countries to which Israel exported equipment were several with which it did not have diplomatic relations. In addition to Pakistan, its clients included Egypt, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.
In 2011, Israel sought to purchase British components to export radar systems to Pakistan. Other items included electronic warfare systems, head-up display parts for fighter aircraft and aircraft engines, optical target acquisition systems, training aircraft components, and military electronic systems.
In 2010, it applied for permission to export electronic warfare systems containing British components to Pakistan.
Published – June 11, 2013 10:51 pm EST.