ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday, reacting over reports of the United States’ decision to impose sanctions against commercial entities on allegations of links with Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme, said that such listings had taken place in the past without sharing any evidence whatsoever. In response to media queries about the matter, spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “Such listings of commercial entities have taken place in the past as well on allegations of links to Pakistan’s ballistic missile Programme without sharing any evidence whatsoever.”
She said, “Pakistan rejects political use of export controls. It is a reality that the same jurisdictions, which claim to exercise strict non-proliferation controls, have waived off licensing requirements for advanced military technologies for some countries. This is leading to arms buildup; accentuating regional asymmetries, and undermining the objectives of non-proliferation and of regional and global peace and security.”
The statement said, “While we are not aware of the specifics of the latest measures by the United States, in the past we have come across many instances where listings have been made on mere suspicion or even when the involved items were not on any control lists but were deemed sensitive under catch-all provisions.”
The spokesperson added that they have pointed out many times that such items have legitimate civil commercial uses. She said that it is, therefore, important to avoid arbitrary application of export controls. She maintained, “There is need for discussions between concerned parties for an objective mechanism to ensure access to technology in pursuit of socio-economic development. Pakistan has always been ready to discuss end-use and end-user verification mechanisms so that legitimate commercial users are not hurt by discriminatory application of export controls.”
