Arms Sales (Hansard, 4 July 2002)

§ Gregory Barker
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on arms sales to(a) India and (b) Pakistan between December 2001 and June 2002; and if he will make a statement. [65409]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
There has been no change in our policy on arms sales to India or Pakistan between December 2001 and June 2002. All relevant export licence applications for India and Pakistan are considered on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, and in the light of the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Andrew Love) by my hon. Friend, the Member for Exeter (Mr. Ben Bradshaw), on 15 March 2002,Official Report, column 1296–98W.
551W

§ Gregory Barker
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the United Kingdom's arms export policies in calming tensions between Pakistan and India between December 2001 and June 2002; and if he will make a statement. [65410]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
All relevant export licence applications for India and Pakistan are considered on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, and in the light of the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Andrew Love) by my hon. Friend, the member for Exeter (Mr. Ben Bradshaw), on 15 March 2002,Official Report, column 1296–98W. The consolidated criteria clearly set out our commitment to take account of the risk that exports might be used for external aggression.

§ Gregory Barker
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he has undertaken(a) to assess and (b) to prevent the diversion of arms to terrorist organisations in Pakistan. [65408]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Government focus their efforts on assessment of potential end-use at the export licensing stage, including where needed through checks made by our Posts overseas. Carrying out effective risk assessment on end-users before making the export licensing decision is the best way of preventing arms from falling into the wrong hands. Nevertheless, the Government remain committed to carrying out end-use monitoring in those circumstances where this will genuinely add value to our efforts to minimise the risk of misuse and diversion and where such monitoring is practicable. And our overseas posts have standing instructions to report on reports of misuse of any UK-origin defence equipment. We take these reports into account in our assessment.

§ Gregory Barker
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations his Department received regarding(a) increases in Pakistan's (i) offensive and (ii) defensive weapons capabilities in each month from November 2001 to May 2002 and (b) his Department's assessment as to their effect on relations between India and Pakistan; [65412]
(2) what representations his Department received regarding (a) increases in India's (i) offensive and (ii) defensive weapons capabilities in each month from November 2001 to May 2002 and (b) his Department's assessment as to their effect on relations between India and Pakistan. [65411]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
We have received numerous representations on India and Pakistani weapons capabilities in the last eight months. We do not record separately whether the representations distinguish between offensive and defensive weapons.
As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in the House on 25 June 2002, Official Report, column 728, as long as there are one million men under arms on either side of the Line of Control. the risks of a conflict remain significant.