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Pakistan dismisses report about secret arms deal with US for Ukraine as false

"Pakistan maintains a policy of strict neutrality in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia and in that context, does not provide any arms and ammunition to them," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed

ISLAMABAD, September 19. /TASS/. Pakistan’s diplomatic agency rejected as false a report by The Intercept news portal alleging that Washington had brokered a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Islamabad in exchange for military supplies to Kiev.

"The IMF Standby Arrangement for Pakistan was successfully negotiated between Pakistan and the IMF to implement difficult but essential economic reforms. Giving any other color to these negotiations is disingenuous," Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zahra Baloch said on Monday.

"Pakistan maintains a policy of strict neutrality in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia and in that context, does not provide any arms and ammunition to them. Pakistan’s defense exports are always accompanied with strict end user requirements," the Pakistani diplomat assured reporters.

On Sunday, The Intercept, a US non-profit news organization, published a report saying that "the United States helped Pakistan get an IMF bailout, with a secret arms deal for Ukraine," citing records that were leaked to it. According to the report, the Pakistanis contributed arms worth at least $900 million which would help to recover a gap in the financing required by the IMF.

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Ukraine crisis United States IMF Pakistan

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