Defence Production Minister Raza Hayat Harraj has confirmed that Pakistan is engaged in discussions with “multiple” countries for the sale of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.
In recent weeks, Pakistan has reportedly been in talks with several friendly countries for a deal on the JF-17, a light combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan and China and produced in Pakistan.
“These negotiations are taking place and they take some time. Many countries have shown interest in these aircraft,” the minister was quoted as saying in an interview with BBC Urdu, published on Tuesday.
“I cannot take the name of any country. Neither can I tell on what level our negotiations are with any country,” he told the British broadcaster.
“When these jets are exported, then the world will know which countries have bought them,” the report quoted him as saying.
He stressed that such matters were a country’s “jealously guarded secrets”.
Harraj further said, “Firstly, we must ensure that we only sell [JF-17s] to those who are our friendly countries. So they are not used against us.”
He added that China is on board whenever Pakistan signs such a deal with any country.
The defence production minister highlighted that the jets were battle-tested during the four-day conflict with India last year: “The entire world’s air forces saw these jets’ performance during that time and praised it.”
The minister termed the price of the jet “an important” aspect, detailing that while the average value of such planes around the world was $250-350 million, the JF-17 Thunder was cheaper.
Asked about the exact value, he told BBC Urdu, “Its value is around $40-50m; this depends on the jet’s features, and the price can also be higher than this”.
When enquired about whether China also received a share from the sale, Harraj was quoted as saying, “A lot of matters are discussed on the table. China is definitely included in them; it should be and it is their right”.
‘Production capacity a secret’
On a question about Pakistan’s production capacity, especially considering the interest of several countries, the minister told BBC Urdu, “This is a question related to our national defence. These are our secrets, let them remain secrets”.
He stressed that producing such “state-of-the-art” jets was a time-consuming task.
According to the minister, “some portion of the jet is readied in Pakistan, and some portion is readied in China”.
Einar Tangen, a senior fellow at China’s Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), told BBC Urdu that “technology” involved in the jet was likely controlled by China. Therefore, any sale pact would be a joint agreement, with Beijing being a “senior partner”.
“China might even increase Pakistan’s defence production, but all this will be in Beijing’s control,” the expert was quoted as saying.
