Military and defense chiefs from around the world are meeting here Wednesday at the start of a major international weapons show which Pakistan hopes to use as a launch pad for its fledgling arms industry.
President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar, in an opening speech late Tuesday, said Pakistan had gone from a major arms importer to being able to meet most of its weapons needs indigenously, and now it was aiming for greater export sales.
He said local manufacturers were eager to team up with some of the 60 international companies exhibiting at the show, the largest of its kind ever held here.
"Nations are now seeking collaboration in the field of defense production as a means for achieving a level of mutual security and deterrence. Instead of arming for war they are arming for peace," Tarar was quoted as saying in the official media.
"While our efforts towards being self-reliant in the defense field continue, we are conscious of the fact that neither the state-owned defense industries can alone meet the highly complex requirements of national defense, nor can Pakistan meet all its requirements from within."
The three-day IDEAS-2000 defense exhibition has attracted defense ministers, armed forces chiefs and senior generals from more than 40 countries, including China, Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Pakistan has emerged as a competitive arms exporter with annual weapons sales to the Middle East and Europe doubling in the past two years, according to official reports.
Exports including machineguns, rifles, anti-tank rockets, mortars and ammunition earned 30.2 million dollars last year, the official Associated Press of Pakistan has reported.
Pakistan entered the nuclear club in 1998 when it responded to Indian tests with blasts of its own. No delegates from India are attending the exhibition, official reports said.
Much of Pakistan's advanced weaponry has been built with Chinese cooperation, including nuclear capable, long-range missiles and the new Al-Khalid battle tank which is one of the highlights of the exhibition.
The 46 ton, three-man tank has a maximum speed of 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour and a cruising range of 400 kilometers (250 miles).
The joint development project between Pakistan's Heavy Industries Taxila and China's NORINCO has "exceptional mobility, effective protection and excellent firepower supported by a hunter killer capability," according to official reports.
Pakistan is also showing off its medium- to long-range, nuclear capable Shaheen and Ghauri missiles, but officials said they were "not for sale."
The military had taken over security at the exhibition after a bombing at a newspaper office here last week in which at least three people were killed. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police and army commandos armed with automatic weapons have been deployed around the exhibition venue in an eastern suburb.
Military ruler General Pervez Musharraf is expected to attend the exhibition, which is not be open to the public -- KARACHI (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
