Inevitably 2 things have come together at the same time
1) Tandoor and the shock of Pakistan beating India
2) Pakistan's traditional industries (POF, PAC, HIT etc0 showing that although what we have is not cutting edge we can produce en mass. Russia/Ukraine and US/Iran showed that it is not high tech alone that wins wars, mass/numbers count in the longer run, heck we had so much 155mm round we sent them to Ukraine
Smaller countries also realise when you deal with Pakistan it is not just buyer/seller, we often give the whole package, training, Pak officers deputised, capacity building etc
To give you an example two Maldives cadets graduated from PMA this year, Azeris train at PAFA and PNA, PMA and PAFA are always full of Saudis and Qataris in addition to most muslims nations sending mid ranking officers to our staff colleges.
When we set up Nigerians and Azerics on JF-17, unlike French or Russians we did not deliver just kit. Many of them spent a lot of time in Pakistan, we lent their air forces simulator time, we trained their instructors, we ensure they had MFI-17s too so they could replicate basic training of PAF o their home soil, we were there every step of the way to help new weapons integration.
Fron what I know not even Chinese do this, mainly just Brits ad Americans. Countries recognise we are not just selling stuff but genuinely helping them build their own defence
