 "Mil Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter and Mi-8 medium multi-role helicopter perform during a demonstration flight at the MAKS 2017 air show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, on July 18, 2017. (Representational Photo, Credit: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)")
At a time when Russia–Pakistan ties have been on the upswing, a media report has claimed that an ISI plot to steal Russian defence technology has been foiled.
The Economic Times has reported that Russia thwarted an attempt by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to smuggle out technology related to air defence systems and helicopters.
A Russian national was arrested in St Petersburg —Vladimir Putin’s hometown— in connection with the case, the report said.
The report has come just days ahead of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s expected visit to Russia later this month.
What was Pakistan allegedly trying to steal?
The alleged plot involved smuggling documents used in the development of military helicopter technology and air defence systems, including information on Mi8AMTShV and MI8 AMTShV (VA) military transport helicopters, the ET reported people familiar with the matter as saying.
The plot was reportedly foiled before the documents could be smuggled out.
The report surfaces six months after the India-Pakistan conflict following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. During the conflict, India deployed the Russian-made S-400 air defence system, which —along with other platforms, including indigenous ones— played a role in repelling Pakistani attacks.
The timing of Pakistani plot
The alleged Pakistani plot has been busted at a time when Russia and Pakistani were improving their relationship. Their high-level engagements were also rising.
In September, Shehbaz had met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in China, where it was announced that he would visit Russia in November. The two countries have had several high-level exchanges lately.
During his meeting with Shehbaz, Putin described Pakistan as a “traditional partner” of Russia in Asia.
Following the India–Pakistan clashes during ‘Operation Sindoor’, Putin endorsed the Pakistani and American position that it was US President Donald Trump’s intervention that halted the conflict — a claim India has consistently and categorically rejected.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAfter a call between Putin and Trump in June, the Kremlin said in a statement that the two leaders discussed the “conflict between India and Pakistan which has been halted with the personal involvement of President Trump”.
In July, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk visited Pakistan for talks and described Pakistan and Russia as “natural allies”. In June, Syed Tariq Fatemi, a senior aide to Shehbaz, visited Russia and met Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as part of Pakistan’s outreach following the India–Pakistan conflict.