ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan will export 100 indigenously manufactured 100 Super Mushshak trainer jets to friendly countries after the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra received good orders from abroad, Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said Tuesday.
“The PAC Kamra has received a good number of orders for production of 100 Super Mushshak aircraft,” he apprised the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence Production.
The committee meeting, chaired by Khawaja Sohail Mansoor, was attended among others by MNAs Muhammad Khan Daha, Chaudhry Hamid Hameed, Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, Amra Khan, Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, Ayesha Gulalai, special invitees Syed Naveed Qamar and Mussarat Ahmad Zeb, besides Secretary Ministry of Defence Production Lt General (retd) Muhammad Owais and other senior officers.
The minister said exports of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory (POF) had witnessed 80 per cent increase during last three years.
“The exports volume of POF has increased from Rs 20 million to Rs 100 million.”
Besides, he said the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, which was in loss when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government took power in 2013, had been made a profit-earning entity.
Answering query of a member, Rana Tanveer said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in its last tenure issued around 70,000 licences of the prohibited bore weapons.
He said any one, who desired to purchase weapons from POF, was bound to get a no-objection certificate from the ministry after showing the valid licence of the allowed bore weapon.
Commenting on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the minister said the ministry had nothing to do with signing it as it was in the domain of the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior.
Following which, PAC Chairman Khawaja Sohail Mansoor directed to call in secretaries of the two ministries for briefing on the ATT in next meeting of the committee.
The ATT was a multilateral treaty, came into force in 2014, that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons.
Earlier, the Joint Secretary Ministry of Defence Production apprised the committee about Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) produced at POF, Wah.
He said that these weapons were used by the armed forces and other law enforcement agencies of Pakistan.
“The weapons are properly marked in accordance with the laid down procedures, bear permanent marking and can be identified in the name of the manufacturer,” he said.
He said there was no possibility that these weapons could fall into the hands of non-state actors.
“The weapons used by non-state actors come from developing as well as developed countries.”
