Pakistan denounces US sanctions on its missile program as biased and putting regional peace at risk

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan on Thursday denounced new U.S. sanctions on the country’s ballistic missile program as “discriminatory” that put the region’s peace and security at risk.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry warned in a statement that the sanctions “have dangerous implications for strategic stability of our region and beyond.” It also cast doubt on U.S. allegations that targeted businesses were involved in weapons proliferation because previous sanctions “were based on mere doubts and suspicion without any evidence whatsoever.”

It also accused the U.S. of “double standards” for waiving licensing requirements for advanced military technology to other countries.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. property belonging to the targeted businesses and bar Americans from doing business with them.

The U.S. State Department said one such sanctioned entity, the Islamabad-based National Development Complex, worked to acquire items for developing Pakistan’s long range ballistic missile program that includes the SHAHEEN series of ballistic missiles.

The other sanctioned entities are Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International and Rockside Enterprise.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Wednesday on X that the U.S. had “been clear and consistent about our concerns” over such weapons proliferation and that it would “continue to engage constructively with Pakistan on these issues.”

The sanctions were also opposed by the party of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Zulfiqar Bukhari, a Khan’s spokesman, took to the social platform X to criticize the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, saying “we strongly oppose U.S. sanctions on the National Development Complex and three commercial entities.”

The latest U.S. sanctions came months after similar measures were slapped on other foreign entities, including a Chinese research institute, after the U.S. State Department accused them of working for the National Development Complex, which it says was involved in the development and production of Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missiles.

Analysts say Pakistan’s nuclear and missile program is primarily aimed at countering threats from neighboring India.

Security expert Syed Muhammad Ali called the sanctions “short sighted, destabilizing and divorced from South Asian regional strategic realities.”

Pakistan became a declared nuclear power in 1998, when it conducted underground nuclear tests in response to those carried out by its rival and neighbor India. The two sides regularly test-fired their short, medium and long-range missiles.

The two South Asian rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. The disputed Himalayan region is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

Munir Ahmed, The Associated Press