On Thursday, a top White House official said that Pakistan’s actions are an emerging threat to the United States, asserting that the Asian country is working on developing a missile technology that would have the capabilities to target countries beyond South Asia. The top official’s remarks come a day following the US imposed sanctions on four Paksitan entities, including the state-owned flagship and defence agency National Development Complex (NDC) on charges of contributing to Pakistan’s ballistic-missile programme.
Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told a think-tank, “As a result, the (Joe) Biden administration has implemented a series of steps to contend with further development of long-range missile systems. Over the last year, we have issued three rounds of sanctions against non-Pakistani entities that have provided support to Pakistan’s ballistic-missile programme. And yesterday, we issued sanctions directly against Pakistan’s state-owned National Development Complex, which the United States assesses is involved in the development and production of Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missiles, the first time we have sanctioned a Pakistani state-owned enterprise tied to missile development.”
“Simply put, we are going to keep the pressure on Pakistan regarding its long-range missile programme, even as we also continue to seek diplomatic resolutions to address our concerns,” Finer said in his remarks at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a top American think-tank. “If these trend lines continue, Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States, raising real questions about Pakistan’s intentions,” the top official said.
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on four Pakistan entities including the state-owned flagship aerospace and defence agency — National Development Complex (NDC) on charges of contributing to the country’s ballistic missile programme. According to the US State Department, these sanctions target proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. The US has been on alert given the continued proliferation threat of Pakistan’s long-range missile development.
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