Pakistan’s war games in a Beggar’s Bowl

Raju Korti
It never ceases to amaze me how Pakistan, a nation that perpetually lives on the ventilator of foreign bailouts, still finds the appetite for mischief beyond its borders. The latest spectacle comes from its billion-dollar arms deal with Sudan’s military junta -- yes, the same Sudan where famine stalks millions, where hospitals are bombed, where over a hundred thousand innocents have perished in a civil war since 2023. Now, here is a country that can barely keep its own lights on, with inflation gnawing at its people and its foreign reserves perpetually on life support, suddenly deciding to play quartermaster in Africa’s deadliest conflict. Fighter jets, drones, armoured vehicles --Pakistan is hawking them all to a junta that is already drowning in sanctions and blood. Payment, of course, will likely be arranged through a “friendly” third country -- one of those oil-rich patrons in the Gulf that enjoys a proxy tug-of-war in Sudan.

This is not just hypocrisy. It is dangerous duplicity. Pakistan loves to posture as the voice of the ummah, championing Muslim solidarity on global platforms. But here, it has no qualms about supplying the very weapons that will mow down Muslim civilians in Khartoum, Omdurman, and Darfur. The Sudanese Air Force, whose chief just signed the deal in Islamabad, has a proven record of indiscriminate bombings -- schools, hospitals, markets, all fair targets. Washington and Geneva have sanctioned him, but in Islamabad, he is an honoured guest.

Sudan: A Wikipedia grab

The diabolical design behind this transaction is not difficult to decode. Pakistan is broke, and wars abroad provide a convenient outlet for its arms industry while feeding the military’s coffers. Sudan, meanwhile, offers an entry point into the larger Saudi-UAE rivalry for influence in Africa. In other words, Pakistan is happy to rent out its factory of war, while outsourcing the bill.

But where does this leave the Sudanese people? At the bottom of the abyss. Already, 24 million are staring at acute food insecurity. Twelve million have fled their homes, and Darfur echoes again with whispers of genocide. Every new consignment of weapons will only deepen their misery, prolong their displacement, and erase what little hope remains of peace.

Is there a chance for Sudan to climb out of this crisis? Only if the international community wakes up from its slumber. Sanctions on paper mean nothing when loopholes allow Pakistan -- or others -- to pump arms into the conflict. What is needed is a coordinated clampdown on all third-party suppliers and enablers, coupled with real humanitarian investment. Above all, external powers must stop treating Sudan as a chessboard for their rivalries.

In the end, Pakistan’s adventurism in Sudan is not about solidarity, strategy, or survival. It is about a bankrupt state clutching at blood-stained straws to stay relevant. For the Sudanese, it is just another betrayal in a long line of them -- another reminder that in their land, famine feeds on hunger, war feeds on weapons, and hope starves quietly in the shadows.