A senior White House official accused Pakistan of developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that could eventually enable it to strike targets outside of South Asia, including in the United States, just one day after Washington imposed sanctions on the nation’s state-owned missile development agency and three of its vendor companies.
Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer made a startling admission regarding the former close US ally in the War on Terror, stating that Islamabad’s actions raised “real questions” about the objectives of its ballistic missile program.
At the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Finer was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Candidly, it’s hard for us to see Pakistan’s actions as anything other than an emerging threat to the United States,” Reuters quoted Finer as saying at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Pakistan has developed increasingly sophisticated missile technology, from long-range ballistic missile systems to equipment that would enable the testing of significantly larger rocket motors,” he said.
If those trends continue, Finer said, “Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States.”
His statement came a day after the US State Department imposed new sanctions related to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, targeting the National Development Complex (NDC) and three Karachi-based companies—Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International, and Rockside Enterprise.
While the Foreign Office did not immediately respond to Finer’s claim, it had earlier condemned the US sanctions on Thursday, calling them “discriminatory” and warning that they could worsen the regional power imbalance.
“These double standards and discriminatory actions not only undermine the credibility of non-proliferation efforts but also pose a threat to regional and global peace and security,” the Foreign Office stated.
In a strongly worded response, the FO emphasized that Pakistan’s strategic program is purely defensive. “Our strategic capabilities are designed to protect our sovereignty and maintain peace and stability in South Asia,” it added.
The US sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 13382, which targets individuals and entities accused of proliferating weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
