Germany delays submarines sale to Pakistan

BERLIN (PPI) - Germany has sold main battle tanks to Qatar, ending a long ban on selling heavy weapons to Arabian nations, news magazine Der Spiegel said Saturday.
But a sale of stealth submarines to Pakistan was on hold till after Germanys general election in September, it reported without citing sources.
Under German Law manufacturers must obtain clearances from Chancellor Angelas Merkels national security council for sales. The council, an inner cabinet of ministers with security portfolios, issues clearances before contracts are signed. Der Spiegel said Germany had in past declined to sell its Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia so as not to upset Israel. The sale of 36 tanks to tiny Qatar was quietly approved last year with provision that Israel must be informed, but Zionst state apparently did not object.
The sale of three sophisticated fuel-cell-powered type 214 submarines to Pakistan had been approved, and an export credit of 1 billion Euros ($1.3b ) offered, but no contract had been signed yet, Spiegel said.
The sale negotiations were dragging out. The Council decided to adjourn further deliberation on sale till after September. The subs are extremely quiet and can lurk under water for weeks, giving them same capability as nuclear powered submarines.