“Bankrupt for decades, always kept alive by some sponsor”: Military aviation analyst Tom Cooper on Pakistan’s use of Turkish drones

Vienna [Austria], May 15 (ANI): Military aviation analyst and historian Tom Cooper has highlighted Pakistan’s financial struggles, stating that the country has been bankrupt for decades and relies heavily on foreign sponsors to stay afloat.

“Pakistan is bankrupt, actually, since the decades already. It’s always kept alive by some sponsor from abroad," Cooper told ANI.

Cooper noted that Pakistan’s financial backers have changed over time. “To times Saudi Arabia, then China, then Qatar and Italy. So Pakistan actually on its own cannot afford really much. It is always dependable on…," he said, emphasising Pakistan’s dependence on external funding.

Further he highlighted that the alliance between Pakistan and Turkey is driven by mutual interests. “Turkish government is in a similar position like Pakistani, this is the present Turkish government," Cooper said.

Cooper criticized the Turkish government’s use of religion, stating that it is being misused for personal gain. “This is a crazy Islamist in power, who is misusing religion for his own private purposes, actually really to stuff his own pockets full of money and those of his friends. So there is kind of a natural alliance between the two," he said.

“Correspondingly Turkish vice president, is interested in Turkish businesses, receiving orders from Pakistani government," he added.

He also highlighted Pakistan’s strategic alliance with China, which has been instrumental in improving the production quality of Chinese weaponry. He cited the example of the Shenyang F7 fighter jet, which was developed and made capable of mass production thanks to Pakistani input.

“The Chinese, they have the strategic alliance with Pakistan because Pakistan was highly influential. Improving the production quality of the specific Chinese weaponry all the time. For example, a typical example is the Shenyang F7 fighter jet, which was actually developed and made really capable of mass production thanks to Pakistani input," he said.

Notably, Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

This operation was a retaliatory response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, including one Nepali national, while several others were injured.

After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across airbases in Pakistan.

On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an understanding on the cessation of hostilities. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)

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