A top White House official on Thursday stressed that Pakistan's sophisticated missile technology is an emerging threat to the United States, adding that the new missile programme will equip it with the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including the US.
The remark comes after the US slapped sanctions on four Pakistani entities, including the state-owned flagship aerospace and defence agency, the National Development Complex (NDC). The sanctions also encompassed Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International and Rockside Enterprise, which have been charged with contributing to Pakistan's ballistic missile programme. Notably, all three entities are based in Karachi.
NDC, based in Islamabad, is responsible for the ballistic missile programme. It has worked to acquire items to advance Pakistan's long-range ballistic missile programme.
What did the White House official say?
"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," Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told a think-tank.
"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," he said.
"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.
In his remarks, Finer said recently, 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.
Will Pakistan have the capability to hit beyond South Asia?
"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," he said.
The list of countries that possess both nuclear weapons and the missile capability to directly reach the US homeland is very small, and they tend to be adversarial towards the United States -- Russia, North Korea and China, Finer observed.
(With agency inputs)
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