Seized cargo from ship bound for Pakistan may serve military objectives: DRDO report
PTC News Desk: Following the interception of a Karachi-bound ship suspected of carrying materials for Pakistan's nuclear weapons program at Navi Mumbai's Nhava Seva port, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has issued a report indicating the potential military application of the seized cargo.
On Monday, government sources disclosed that the DRDO submitted an official report to the relevant authorities regarding the apprehension of suspicious items originating from China and bound for Pakistan's nuclear programme at Nhava Seva port in Navi Mumbai. According to the report prepared by DRDO experts, the confiscated large-scale Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines possess dual-use capabilities, indicating their potential for military purposes.
Security agencies intercepted a vessel destined for Karachi from China at Nhava Sheva port on January 23, suspecting it to be carrying materials intended for Pakistan's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, as per officials briefed by news agency PTI on March 2. Acting on intelligence inputs, customs officials detained the Malta-flagged merchant ship, CMA CGM Attila, en route to Karachi on January 23.
PTI reported that a DRDO team examined the consignment, which included a CNC machine, and confirmed its potential application in Pakistan's nuclear programme.
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The transportation of CNC machines, as discovered by Indian authorities, is regulated by the Wassenaar Arrangement, an international agreement designed to regulate the proliferation of items with both civilian and military applications, with active Indian participation. Notably, North Korea also employed a CNC machine in its nuclear endeavors.
Further investigations uncovered inconsistencies in shipping details, indicating efforts to conceal the true recipients, PTI reported. This incident represents a series of seizures involving dual-use military-grade items being transported from China to Pakistan, raising concerns about illicit procurement activities.
In response, Pakistan has contended that the Karachi-bound ship was carrying "commercial goods" and criticized reports of the seizure as containing "misrepresentation of facts".
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(Inputs from agencies)