US sanctions on Pakistani firms have ‘no justification’, PM Shehbaz asserts
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asserted that the recent sanctions placed by the United States on four Pakistani firms for their alleged involvement in the country’s ballistic missile programme had “no justification”.
The statement came after the US imposed sanctions on the Islamabad-based National Development Complex and three Karachi-based entities last week, saying that the White House will continue to “act against the proliferation and associated procurement activities of concern.”
Taking an exception to the statement, the Foreign Office termed the decision “biased”, promoting a US official to allege that Pakistan could eventually develop capabilities to strike targets as far as the US, which the FO rejected as “unfounded [and] devoid of rationality”.
Addressing a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad today, the premier said, “The sanctions placed upon our National Development Complex and other entities have no justification.
“Pakistan has absolutely no intention for our nuclear system to be aggressive. It is 100 per cent for Pakistan’s defence. It’s just deterrence; nothing else,” he added.
