Pakistan, in response to the Trump administration’s move to take action against seven Pakistani companies for their alleged involvement in nuclear trade, warned ‘detractors’ against exploiting the issue.
“We reject attempts by Pakistan’s detractors to exploit these listings to cast aspersions on Pakistan’s non-proliferation credentials. Such attempts give rise to doubts about the motivation and timing of these measures which will be seen as being politically-driven,” Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said.
“We caution against unnecessarily politicising the issue,” he added.
The FO spokesperson’s statement comes after the Trump administration on Sunday added seven companies to a list of foreign entities that presumably posed a significant risk to the national security and policy interests of the United States by allegedly engaging in nuclear trade.
Dr Faisal said the companies in question were private sector firms and added the FO was seeking information from the US as well as these companies to better understand the circumstances which led to the listing.
“The entities in question are private sector companies. Being added to the Entity List means that these companies will be subject to additional licensing requirements for access to certain US-origin items. We shall be seeking information from the US as well as these companies to better understand the circumstances which led to the listing,” he said.
He added, “Pakistan believes that there should be no undue restrictions on the access to dual-use items and technologies for peaceful and legitimate purposes.”
“Pakistan has always been transparent and willing to engage with the suppliers of the dual-use items, including from the US, to extend guarantees regarding non-diversion through end-user assurances as well as arrangements for post-shipment verifications. Pakistan has arranged for such post-ship verifications by certain other international suppliers of dual-use items to their complete satisfaction,” the FO spokesperson further said.
The FO spokesperson noted, “Pakistan’s efforts in the area of export controls and non-proliferation as well as nuclear safety and security are well known. Pakistan and US have a history of cooperation in these areas.”
He said the US entity list was a dynamic list where entities and businesses from several countries, including from the NSG member states, were added and removed based on the national technical determination made by the relevant US authorities.
The Department of Commerce’s Entity List does not freeze assets but requires that US and foreign companies doing business with those on the list first obtain a license.
Companies placed on the Entity List will need special licenses to do business in the United States.
