Pakistan hasstrongly reacted to the sanctions imposed by the US against its ballistic missile programme.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Saturday that measures against commercial entities on allegations of links to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme had also been taken in the past, without Washington providing any evidence.
“While we are not aware of the specifics of the latest measures by the United States," Baloch stated. "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.”
She noted that it has already been pointed out several times that arbitrary application of export controls should be avoided.
The spokeswoman also asserted the need for discussions between concerned parties for an objective mechanism to avoid mistaken sanctions on technology which is purely for socio-economic development.
“We reject political use of export controls," Baloch said. "It is well known that the same jurisdictions, which claim strict adherence to non-proliferation controls, have waived off licensing requirements for advanced military technologies for some countries.”
She added that such discriminatory approaches and double standards undermined the credibility of non-proliferation regimes, as well as the objectives of regional and global peace and security by accentuating military asymmetries.