Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asserted that the recent sanctions placed by the United States on four Pakistani firms for their alleged involvement in the country’s ballistic missile programme had “no justification”.
Addressing a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad, the premier said, “The sanctions placed upon our National Development Complex and other entities have no justification.
“Pakistan has absolutely no intention to have an aggressive nuclear system. It is 100 per cent for Pakistan’s defence; nothing else,” he added.
Last week, the US said it was imposing additional sanctions related to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme, targeting four entities that it alleged were contributing to the proliferation or delivery of such weapons.
Responding to the sanctions, the FO had said they were “biased” and “endanger regional and international peace”.
Later, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer accused Pakistan of developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that could eventually allow it to strike targets “well beyond South Asia, including in the United States”.
However, showing caution, Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder refrained from direct criticism when asked about the US sanctions on Pakistan, adding that the US valued Pakistan as a partner in the region, having “worked closely” with the country on counterterrorism efforts in the past.
Responding to Finer’s claims of Pakistan being capable of striking the US, the FO had termed them as “unfounded, [and] devoid of rationality and sense of history”.
More to follow
