Indian claims of military supplies aboard Pakistan-bound vessel factually incorrect: FO

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui on Saturday — commenting on allegations by Indian authorities regarding an item seized from a detained Pakistan-bound Chinese merchant vessel — said claims regarding the possible military dimension of the item in question were factually incorrect.

In a press release, the Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We have noted the reports about inspection and seizure by the Indian authorities of an item from a Pakistan-bound commercial vessel. In this regard, we have also been approached by the private company in Pakistan which had imported the item under question.”

Farooqui clarified that the item was a “heat treatment furnace casing system” with “several industrial applications”.

Indian authorities had detained Chinese merchant vessel MV Da Cui Yun in the first week of February at Deendayal port, formerly known as Kandla port, alleging that it carried an autoclave which had been mis-declared in the cargo manifest. It was claimed that the autoclave could be used in the manufacture of missiles.

“It is not listed in any international export control list. Contrary to what is being claimed, the item was correctly declared in the relevant documentation and there was no attempt to hide or conceal any information,” she said.

“Similar furnaces are being used in several industries in Pakistan and the world over,” she added.

On Thursday, China had strongly rejected the Indian allegation that the detained vessel had carried cargo that breached non-proliferation and export control restrictions.

“The Pakistan-bound merchant vessel from China was detained by India, but the autoclave on the ship that India claimed to be material for ballistic missiles is neither military supplies nor dual-use items under non-proliferation and export control,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao had said at a media briefing in Beijing.

The spokesman had said that the operators of the ship had truthfully declared the cargo to Indian authorities and, therefore, there was no concealment or false declaration.