Pakistan talks with Russia, to buy military weapons

Islamabad, April 7: Pakistani Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan has said that Islamabad was in direct talks with Moscow for the procurement of sophisticated military hardware, including air defence systems, fighter jets and battle tanks.

In an interview, Khan also talked about increased cooperation with Kremlin which mirrors Pakistan's wider geo-strategic concerns.

"Air defence system is a different kind of weapon we are interested. We are very much interested in a very wide range of the Russian weapons technology. We are in negotiations (on air defence systems) and once we conclude negotiations, we will be able to announce them," Khan told the Russian publication.

The Defence Minister also outlined that Islamabad was interested in acquiring T-90 tanks from Moscow as part of a long-term deal rather than committing itself to a single purchase.