India has pressed on France to support a ban on weapon supply to Pakistan by the European Union (EU), citing firstly Pak’s constant support to terrorism, secondly the likelihood of transferring of sensitive tech to its all-weather ally China, and lastly its poor human rights record.
This move by India comes following France taking over the presidency of the Council of the EU in January and continuing till June. Earlier, France gave assurance to India that it wouldn’t transfer sensitive weapon systems to Pakistan and also supported New Delhi amid border conflict with China.
As per ET sources, the request was made during defence minister-level meet last month when Rajnath Singh met his French counterpart Florence Parly in New Delhi. During the French minister’s visit, a non-paper was handed over to the French delegation that brought out concerns on the working of state and non-state actors in Pakistan.
