Ship from China to Pak stopped at Mumbai over suspected nuke cargo

A ship en route to Pakistan's Karachi from China has been stopped by Indian security agencies at Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port on the suspicion that it contained a dual-use consignment that could be used for Pakistan's nuclear and ballistic missiles programme, officials said on Saturday. Based on an intelligence input, the customs officials halted a Malta-flagged merchant ship - CMA CGM Attila - that was bound for Karachi.Officials said there was a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) on that ship, originally manufactured by an Italian company. CNC machines are basically controlled by a computer and fall under the Wassenaar Arrangement, an international arms control regime aimed at curbing the spread of items with dual civilian and military applications, in which India is an active participant.
A Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) team also inspected the consignment and certified that it could be used by the neighbouring country for its nuclear programme. The equipment is said to provide assistance in manufacturing critical parts for Pakistan's missile programme. Documents such as bills of loading and other details of the consignment showed the consigner was mentioned as "Shanghai JXE Global Logistics Co Ltd" and the consignee was "Pakistan Wings Pvt Ltd" of Sialkot. A deeper investigation by the security agencies indicated that the consignment, weighing 22,180 kg, was shipped by Taiyuan Mining Import and Export Co Ltd and meant for Cosmos Engineering in Pakistan, the officials said.
This isn't the first time Indian port officials have seized such dual-use military-grade items being transported from China to Pakistan. Cosmos Engineering, a Pakistani defence supplier, has been under scrutiny since March 12, 2022, when Indian authorities intercepted a shipment of Italian-made thermoelectric instruments at the Nhava Sheva port.