Islamabad

The outgoing US administration Wednesday (Dec 19) slapped sanctions on four Pakistani entities, including one state-owned, in an action ‘targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction.’ Mathew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, said the four agencies were involved in Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme.

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Details of sanctioned entities

The entities that were targeted by Washington DC Wednesday included Islambad-based National Development Complex (NDC). The agency is believed to have played a central role in developing Pakistan’s ballistic missile capabilities.

NDC is also responsible for developing Shaheen-series ballistic missiles and also for procuring special vehicle chassis and missile testing equipment to support these efforts.

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Apart from the NDC, US sanctions targeted Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, a company that allegedly supplied a range of equipment to NDC for its missile development activities. Rockside Enterprise, a third firm, was also targeted by the US to prevent “the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and prevent further destabilising developments in the region.”

Islamabad reacts

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Reacting to the move by US, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it was an “unfortunate and biased” action. The statement added that the US move could undermine regional stability by “exacerbating military asymmetries.”

Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme

Reuters cited the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as saying that Pakistan’s Shaheen-series missiles can be used to launch nuclear weapons. The South Asian country first test-exploded a nuclear bomb in 1998 and entered the elite club of nuclear-armed nations. It currently holds at least 170 nuclear warheads.

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It must be noted that the Shaheen programme was launched by Pakistan in response to India’s Agni series missiles. Shaheen-III missile, with a range of 2,750 kilometres, has the ability to reach farthest places in India’s northeast as well as Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean. It has been reported in media that the missile can strike even Israel, in just 12 minutes.

(With inputs from agencies)