& why would we be needing to do that apart from advancing in technology??
I think there is something cooking in the heads of PAF especially PAC,
1) a platform which could use both Chinese & European weapons at the same time?
2) who said that such a platform could only be used by PAF, a perfect chance to export as well according to the customer need, whatever they prefer / able to integrate, European or chinses weapons of their choice or both.
Why? Control.
In Pakistan, if you want to make any argument for indigenization, it must center on the idea of control.
Folks tried for decades to talk about industrial development, the economy, etc, and all that flew over the heads of our leaders in the military and government alike.
But control is a whole other issue.
This idea that now China can openly say, "oh we don't feel comfortable sharing our source codes" is total BS for the PAF. For now, it's directed against Western subsystems, but later, it could be against Pakistani systems too.
With a Pakistani AESA radar model in the works, the Chinese and Europeans can say "no" to integrating their stuff onto it. However, if they deny us a certain kind of missile, and then we develop said missile, our own radar would allow us to operationalize our capability.
As we start embarking on supersonic or ramjet-based weapons, this control is going to be critical, especially when long-range/stand-off-range systems are involved (which can have a strategic impact).
Moreover, I don't think we'll export our radar models, not until we master semiconductor technology some many decades into the future. We wouldn't want anyone else to know what we're carrying in our own jets, and though we could make an export variant, there's a risk (e.g., that one common factor) there too.