Pakistan is on a shopping spree of military equipment in China which it is feared will help arm jihadis and facilitate their intrusion. The long list of items includes 80,000 rounds of steel bullets, according to a report prepared by intelligence agencies, signalling a possible use by terrorists infiltrating into Kashmir from the Line of Control (LoC).

Steel bullets are potent enough to pierce through bulletproof jackets and have been used by terror groups against security forces in the last few years. A bulk order of these bullets is alarming as it indicated how Pakistan is equipping terrorists to cause maximum damage to the Indian security forces.

Pakistan's purchases of defence equipment from China to aid terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Kashmir shows the collusion between two countries against India, intelligence reports indicate.

The big arms purchases are happening in the wake of India-China standoff in Ladakh over the last three months. Despite military and diplomatic talks, the deadlock has not ended with both sides continuing with their military build-up at the Line of Actual Control.

The list of items that Pakistan is buying from China also includes surveillance platforms, winter clothing and equipment for high-altitude areas, artillery guns and combat armed drones.

Military observers believe that China wants to ensure that there is action at the Line of Control. "They feel this will keep India's focus on Pakistan so that Indian army's attention is diverted from the LAC against China," says Maj PK Sehgal (Retd).


Maj Gen SP Sinha (Retd) feels this is a "dirty game plan" between India and China. "Pakistan has not been successful in many infiltrations. Our effort should be to ensure even during the winter Pakistan is unable to aid infiltration of terrorists."

An intelligence report says a 10-member team of the Pakistan Army led by Brigadier Mohammad Zafar Iqbal visited China to review the procurement process. "The Pakistan Army team went to China for factory acceptance test of items procured from Aerospace Long-March International Trade Company (ALIT), China."

Reports also suggest that ALIT has offered Pakistan command and control options, including direct line-of-sight and satellite communications.

Pakistan has already procured 3,000-4,000 military combat ballistic bulletproof jackets from China. These are being supplied to the mujahideen battalions that assist terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba at LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan is also procuring balloon radars from China to be used at LoC. These helium-filled balloon looking airborne ground surveillance systems can go up to a height of 15,000 feet.

Intelligence reports also say Pakistan is procuring a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Cai Hong-4 (CH-4) from China. It can carry a wide range of payloads.

These UAVs might be used at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir to create further unrest in India.