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France Refuses To Upgrade Pakistan’s Mirage Fighter Jets, Submarines After Macron Bashing: Indian Media

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan openly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron over his controversial remarks about Islam. Khan also agreed to demands of a radical Islamist party to downgrade ties with the global powerhouse.

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Now, in a retaliatory move, France has reportedly decided against upgrading the Mirage III and Mirage 5 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force. There was been no official statement as of now from France.

A diplomat in Paris has told the Indian daily  Hindustan Times that Pakistan’s request to upgrade fighter jets has been declined. According to the HT report, a similar request for upgrading the French-Italian air defense system has also been denied.

Pakistan had requested to upgrade its Agosta 90B class submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems that would allow them to stay underwater for longer but the diplomat said it has also been rejected by France. 

Pakistan Air Force has about 150 Mirage fighter jets manufactured by the French firm Dassault Aviation and its navy has three Agosta 90B submarines: Khalid, Saad, and Hamza. France’s decision to not upgrade the fighter jets and submarines is going to hit the Pakistan defense forces hard and the government harder, which was going to agree to the demands of boycotting French goods. Will Pakistan now boycott the French goods? 

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