KARACHI: Pakistan is reported to have asked China for detailed satellite images of at least six frontline bases of the Indian Air Force.
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According to Indian media report, Pakistan’s request for information on 22 “targets’ in India was recently made through SUPARCO, or Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, associated with Dr Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate in Physics. SUPARCO has requested CNSA, or China National Space Administration, with which it has a ten-year agreement.
The report claims that among the 22 targets are active IAF bases in the northern and western sectors like Srinagar, Adampur, Ambala, Bathinda, Sirsa and Bhuj. They are part of the IAF’s Western and South Western Command.
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Under the Space Cooperation Outline Agreement signed in 2021 between SUPARCO and CNSA, China can supply satellite images to Pakistan. What Pakistan has sought are sub-metre resolution images, a technical ability it may not have. One-metre-resolution images are commercially available but remain expensive, but 0.6-metre-resolution images are less easy to access. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) wants to know what the IAF is doing in the six bases.
