Pakistan is making a major sales drive at the Middle East's main defence exhibition, Idex, which is being held in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Analysts say Pakistan has the largest presence they have seen at a defence show outside the country itself.

In the Arab world, the underground nuclear explosions Pakistan carried out in May 1998 were lauded as the culmination of work towards an Islamic bomb.

As a result there has been a feeling from some sectors that it should be a defence leader within the Muslim world.

Now there are growing moves towards Islamic countries buying weapons from one another rather than from other countries - a similar idea to Nato members buying arms from within their own grouping.

Cheaper weapons

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and increasingly Jordan and Egypt are buying in to that idea.