External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while targeting European countries during an event in Finland, said that Europe sells such weapons which are used against India. He said that no European country was attacked with Indian weapons, but European weapons have been used against India. Foreign Minister After the statement, the question started arising as to which European countries Pakistan gets weapons from.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), after the Cold War and in the decade from 1990 to 2010, Pakistan was dependent on European countries to modernize its air force and navy. During this period, Pakistan purchased Erie radar systems from Sweden, Mirage fighter aircraft and submarines from France, naval ships, missiles and helicopters on a large scale from Italy and Netherlands. Due to this, Europe’s share in Pakistan’s total arms imports reached about 15% to 20%. However, according to the latest report of SIPRI (2021 to 2025), Pakistan’s arms purchases from Europe are now nominal. At present, Netherlands, Turkey and Britain supply it with limited quantities of arms.
Netherlands at the forefront in Europe
Among the European countries, Netherlands is considered to be the largest country supplying arms and military equipment to Pakistan. According to SIPRI, Pakistan’s share in arms imports in 2021-25 was 4.6%. Dutch company Damen has been involved in building ships and patrol vessels for the Pakistan Navy. Pakistan Navy Chief also visited Netherlands in 2024.
Weapons are also available from Turkey
Turkey is Pakistan’s second largest arms supplier. According to SIPRI, Turkey’s share in Pakistan’s arms imports is about 7%. A military training program also runs between the two countries, under which about 1,500 Pakistani military officers have been trained in Turkey. Pakistan has purchased Bayraktar TB2 drone, military vehicles and ships for the navy from Turkey. Both the countries have also worked together on the project of developing fighter jets.
Britain’s role too
Britain’s stake is less, but defense cooperation between the two countries has been going on for a long time. According to SIPRI, Britain’s share in Pakistan’s arms imports during 2015-24 was about 0.3%. However, since 2015, British companies have received licenses to sell defense and aviation equipment worth about 104 million pounds to Pakistan. These include parts of aircraft, helicopters and drones. BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and other British companies have been providing defense material to Pakistan. In 2025, Britain also sold three Royal Marine hovercraft to Pakistan Navy.
Why did arms purchases from Europe decrease?
According to the SIPRI report, due to the Russia-Ukraine war, European countries themselves are facing an arms crisis. Also, India’s diplomatic pressure and Pakistan’s economic crisis are the major reasons for the decline in purchases. Now China is fulfilling about 80% of Pakistan’s military needs.
China is the largest arms supplier
According to SIPRI, China had the largest share in Pakistan’s arms imports during 2021 to 25. During this period, about 80% of Pakistan’s total major arms imports came from China. Even in the figures of 2015-24, China’s share was 78%.
Pakistan has been buying fighter planes, warships and other military equipment from China for a long time. After the India-Pakistan tension in May 2025, China gave J-10C fighter planes to Pakistan. Pakistan has also acquired FC-31 stealth fighter aircraft from China. China had also offered to supply J-35 stealth fighter to Pakistan in 2025.
Also read: 8647 written on the grass in Washington, threat to Trump 2 days before his birthday?
Leave a Reply