Report says cash-strapped Pakistan sold arms to Ukraine for crucial IMF funding; Islamabad rejects allegation

Islamabad, Sep 19 (PTI) Secret Pakistani arms sales to the US to be used by Ukraine helped cash-strapped Islamabad secure a crucial IMF bailout earlier this year, a report cited internal Pakistani and American government documents as confirming.

The arms sales were made for the purpose of supplying the Ukrainian military — marking Pakistani involvement in a conflict it had faced US pressure to take sides on, the Intercept, an online investigative website has reported.

Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Monday, however, rejected as “baseless and fabricated” the American non-profit news organisation's report, saying that the cash-strapped country provided arms to the US to get its support to clinch the USD 3 billion deal with the IMF towards the end of June to avoid default.