Germany sells tanks to Qatar, delays on subs to Pakistan

Report: Germany sells tanks to Qatar, delays on subs to Pakistan - Monsters and Critics


Germany sells tanks to Qatar, delays on subs to Pakistan

Berlin - Germany is to sell main battle tanks to Qatar, ending a long ban on selling the heavy weapons to Arabian peninsula nations, the news magazine Der Spiegel said Saturday.
But a sale of stealth submarines to Pakistan was on hold till after Germany's general election in September, the magazine reported, without citing sources.
Under German law, the manufacturers must obtain clearances from Chancellor Angela's Merkel's national security council for the sales. The council, an inner cabinet of ministers with security portfolios, issues clearances before contracts are signed.
Der Spiegel said Germany had in the past declined to sell its Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia so as not to upset Israel.
It said the sale of 36 tanks to tiny Qatar was quietly approved last year with the proviso that Israel must be informed, but the Jewish state apparently did not object.
Spiegel said this was presumably because Qatar had little need to use them, since it was not under threat from its land neighbours, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Its 9,000-man army was acquiring the tanks for prestige reasons. Qatar is home to a large US base.
The sale of three sophisticated fuel-cell-powered Type 214 submarines to Pakistan had been approved, and an export credit of 1 billion euros (1.3 billion dollars) had been offered, but no contract had been signed yet, Spiegel said.
It said the sale negotiations were dragging out. With Pakistan destabilized by Taliban advances, the council had decided to adjourn further deliberation on the potentially controversial sale till after September.
The submarines are extremely quiet and can lurk under water for weeks, giving them the same capability as nuclear-powered submarines.

I suppose that despite Germans offering a good export credit, Pakistan would choose to take the risk of more financial burden. They have already bitten off more than they can chew in this section especially from China where Pakistan has a credit already to manufacture JF-17 combat aircraft, economic loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars from worldwide especially the USA, European Union, China and Japan.

If Mr. Zardari plans to take this offer of Germans, he would only be drowning his country into further debts towards international community.

He would need to keep all the branches of his military forces happy, or risk his government, a coup a decade is the policy, they could change it to a coup every half a decade.

Well said Kuku, Pakistan considering its current economic & geo political status, can by no way efford a U Boat.

With INDIA choosing the Scorpene, instead of the U214 has probably made the Germans go nuts, they just want to sell it.

Pakistan, will surely ask for a loan Waiver soon, from all its military hardware suppliers. ( God forbid if that happens - what will Germany & China do then ):noo1: