The bitterness in the diplomatic relationship between France and Pakistan plunged a new low with the former deciding against upgrading the latter’s fleet of Mirage fighter jets, air defence systems and the Agosta 90B class submarines following Imran Khan’s verbal attack against the French President Emmanuel Macron for taking action against radical separatist Islamists.
According to a report published, France has also reportedly asked Qatar to not allow Pakistani-origin personnel to work on the fighter jets, fearing that they will leak the technical details of the aircraft. Qatar is another country besides India which owns French-made Rafale jets.
The decision by Paris to not upgrade the Mirage III and Mirage 5 fighter jets could bear a huge impact on the Pakistani Air Force which has about 150 Mirage fighter aircraft manufactured by the French organisation Dassault Aviation. However, only half of them are serviceable. As per diplomats in New Delhi and Paris, Pakistan had requested France for upgrades to keep fighter jets in the air. However, the request was declined, one of the diplomats said.
Another request from Pakistan to upgrade its Agosta 90B class submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP)systems that would allow them to stay underwater for a longer duration has also been turned down by France. Pakistan has three Agosta 90B submarines: Khalid, Saad and Hamza.
