Pakistan is reportedly in the final stages of finalizing a $1.5 billion arms deal with Sudan, according to a former senior air force official and three sources, promising a significant boost to Sudan’s military in its fight against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a British news agency reported Friday.
The ongoing conflict has triggered the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis for over two and a half years, drawing in multiple foreign actors and threatening to destabilize the strategically important Red Sea nation, which is also a major gold producer.
The agreement reportedly includes 10 Karakoram-8 light attack aircraft, more than 200 drones for reconnaissance and kamikaze missions, and advanced air defense systems, according to two of the three anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
“It’s a done deal,” said Aamir Masood, a retired Pakistani air marshal who remains briefed on air force developments.
Besides the Karakoram-8 jets, it includes Super Mushshak training aircraft, and perhaps some coveted JF-17 fighters developed jointly with China and produced in Pakistan, he added, without giving figures or a delivery schedule.
Pakistan’s military and its defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesman for Sudan’s army did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.
Assistance from Pakistan, especially drones and jets, could help Sudan’s army regain the air supremacy it had towards the start of its war with the RSF, which has increasingly used drones to gain territory, eroding the army’s position.
Sudan’s army accuses the RSF of being supplied by the United Arab Emirates, which has denied supplying weapons.
The sources did not say how the deal was being funded but Masood said it was possible the finances would come from Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia may favour and support all the favourable regimes in Gulf for procurement of Pakistani military equipment and training,” he said.
One of the sources said the Saudis brokered the deal but added there was no indication they were paying for the weapons. Another source said Saudi was not providing funds.
Reuters has reported that Islamabad is in talks with Riyadh for a defence deal that could be worth between $2 billion and $4 billion.
Masood said the weapons for Sudan could be included in such an agreement, without confirming discussions with Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are part of the US-led quad grouping of nations that has tried to push Sudan’s army and the RSF towards peace talks.
On recent visits, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan requested Saudi assistance in the war, according to Sudanese and Egyptian sources. The deal is another feather in the cap for Pakistan’s growing defence sector, which has drawn growing interest and investment, particularly since its jets were deployed in a conflict with India last year.
Last month, Islamabad struck a weapons deal worth more than $4 billion with the Libyan National Army, officials said, for one of the South Asian nation’s largest arms sales, which includes JF-17 fighter jets and training aircraft.
Pakistan has also held talks with Bangladesh on a defence deal that could include the Super Mushshak training jets and JF-17s, as ties improve ties with Dhaka.
The government sees Pakistan’s burgeoning industry as a catalyst to secure long-term economic stability.
Pakistan is now in a $7-billion IMF programme, following a short-term deal to avert a sovereign default in 2023. It won IMF support after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies provided financial and deposit rollovers.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg reported that Turkiye is seeking to join the defence alliance between Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan, according to people familiar with the matter, paving the way for a new security alignment that could shift the balance of power in the Middle East and beyond.
The deal, initially signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in September, states that “any aggression” against one country is considered an attack on all. That mirrors Article 5 in Nato, of which Turkey is the largest military after the US. The talks are at an advanced stage and a deal is very likely, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The expanded alliance would make sense because Turkey’s interests increasingly overlap with those of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in South Asia, the Middle East and even Africa, said the people. Turkey also sees the pact as a way of strengthening security and deterrents when there are questions over the reliability of the US, which has strong military ties with all three countries, and President Donald Trump’s commitment to Nato.
Saudi Arabia brings financial clout, Pakistan has nuclear capability, ballistic missiles and manpower, while Turkey has the military experience and has developed a defence industry, according to Nihat Ali Ozcan, a strategist with Ankara-based think tank TEPAV.
“As the US prioritises its own interests and that of Israel in the region, changing dynamics and fallout from regional conflicts are prompting countries to develop new mechanisms to identify friends and foes,” Ozcan said.
Turkey’s Defence Ministry declined to comment. Pakistan’s Information Ministry didn’t respond to a request for a comment. Saudi Arabian authorities weren’t immediately available to respond to a request for comment during the weekend in the kingdom.
Should Turkey ink its membership in the alliance, it would underscore the new era in relations with Saudi Arabia as the erstwhile rival leaders. After turning the page on years of rancour, the countries are working to develop economic and defence cooperation. They held their first ever naval meeting in Ankara this week, according to the Turkish Defence Ministry.
They also share long-standing concern over Iran, though prefer engagement with Tehran rather than force. The Turks and Saudis also back a stable state in Syria and statehood for Palestinians.
Turkey and Pakistan, meanwhile, have long enjoyed close military relations. Ankara is building corvette warships for Islamabad’s navy and has upgraded dozens of its F-16s. Turkey is already sharing drone technology with both the countries, and now wants them to join its Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet programme, Bloomberg reported earlier.
The trilateral defence talks come in the wake of a ceasefire between Pakistan and India that ended a four-day military clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. Tensions are also high between Pakistan and its northern neighbour, Afghanistan, due to a series of clashes after Islamabad accused the Taliban of hosting hostile militant groups. Turkey and Qatar mediated talks to end the fighting, but they ended inconclusively.
Source: The News
