On Wednesday, December 19, The United States imposed sanctions on four Pakistani entities, including the state-owned National Development Complex (NDC), for their involvement in Pakistan’s ballistic missile program.
The sanctioned entities include the NDC, Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International, and Rockside Enterprise.
Apart from NDC, the three other entities sanctioned by the US are Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International, and Rockside Enterprise. All three are based in Karachi, while the NDC is in Islamabad. As per the US State Department, these companies worked with the NDC to acquire equipment.
The sanctions were imposed due to the entities’ contribution to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program, which is capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The sanctions will freeze any US property belonging to the targeted entities and bar Americans from doing business with them.
The US Department of State confirmed the sanction in a press release highlighting the fact that the sanctions were imposed pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.
The statement read, and I quote: “Pakistan’s National Development Complex – which is responsible for Pakistan’s ballistic missile program and has worked to acquire items to advance Pakistan’s long range ballistic missile program – and Affiliates International, Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, and Rockside Enterprise – which have worked to supply equipment and missile‐applicable items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, including its long range missile program – are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 Section 1(a)(ii) for having engaged, or attempted to engage, in activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a risk of materially contributing to, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery (including missiles capable of delivering such weapons), including any efforts to manufacture, acquire, possess, develop, transport, transfer, or use such items, by Pakistan.
However, Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, has denounced the US sanctions as “unfortunate and biased,” stating that they will harm regional stability by “aiming to accentuate military asymmetries.”
“Such policies have dangerous implications for the strategic stability of our region and beyond,” the ministry said.
Pakistan entered the ranks of nuclear-armed nations in 1998 with its first nuclear weapons test, becoming the seventh country to do so. On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted six nuclear tests in response to India’s nuclear tests earlier that month.
Fast forward to the 2000s, Pakistan started the Shaheen-series ballistic missile program, which is a part of Pakistan’s missile research and development program, also known as the Hatf program. The program was initiated in response to India’s equivalent program and has been developed with the support of various countries, including China and North Korea.
The Shaheen program has produced several variants, including the Shaheen-I, Shaheen-II, and Shaheen-III, with ranges of up to 2,750 km. The Shaheen-III is a land-based medium-range ballistic missile that was test-fired for the first time in 2015.
On March 26, 2022, Pakistan successfully tested the Shaheen-1A – a surface-to-surface ballistic missile that reached 900 kms into space.
According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists research organization, the Shaheen series of missiles is nuclear-capable. The missiles are designed to be delivered with a high degree of accuracy using solid-fuel systems.
Today, Pakistan is estimated to possess around 170 nuclear warheads, with a growing nuclear arsenal. The country continues to develop its nuclear capabilities, including the production of plutonium and the development of new delivery systems. Pakistan has not signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) or the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and its nuclear program remains a subject of international concern.
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