Pakistan suspends $1.5 billion arms deal with Sudan after Saudi objections

Pakistan has suspended a $1.5 billion arms and aircraft deal with Sudan after Saudi Arabia demanded the agreement be scrapped and said it would not finance the purchase.

In January, the deal was in its final stages and was brokered with Saudi mediation, though Riyadh’s financing role was not disclosed at the time, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The agreement was one of several defence export deals pursued by Pakistan’s military after its aircraft and weapons systems drew attention following clashes with India in May last year.

Saudi Arabia is one of Pakistan’s closest allies and a key source of loans and financial support for the country’s struggling economy.

Their ties deepened last year after signing a mutual defence pact under which aggression against one side is treated as an attack on both.

“Saudi Arabia has signaled that Pakistan should terminate the deal after ​it dropped the idea of financing it,” one security source said.

The source added that some Western countries had advised Riyadh to stay out of proxy conflicts in Africa.

The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has for nearly three years driven what is described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

It has also become a focal point for competing foreign interests and threatens the fragmentation of the Red Sea state, a major gold producer.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates back opposing sides in several conflict zones across the region, including Sudan.

While both say they support a diplomatic resolution, Saudi Arabia is seen as supporting the Sudanese army, while the UAE has been accused of providing logistical support to the Rapid Support Forces — allegations it denies.

A March meeting between Sudanese army leadership and Saudi authorities in Riyadh led to the suspension of Saudi financing for the deal.

A separate $4 billion agreement with the Libyan National Army, in December, also came under strain as Saudi Arabia is “revisiting their strategy” in both countries.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov