In response to the US move to sanction businesses that are purportedly associated with Pakistan’s ballistic missile development, the Foreign Office (FO) disapproved of the “political use” of export control on Saturday.
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch remarked at a press conference: “Such listings of commercial entities have taken place on allegations of links to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme on previous occasions as well without sharing any evidence whatsoever.”
Islamabad, she said, was not aware of the details of the most recent US measures. She also mentioned that in the past, they had encountered numerous cases where listings were made based only on suspicion or even when the items in question were not on any control lists but were still considered sensitive due to catch-all provisions.
According to the spokeswoman, Islamabad has repeatedly stated that these kinds of products have valid civil commercial use. “Therefore, it is crucial to prevent the arbitrary implementation of export controls.”
According to her, in order to achieve socioeconomic development, key parties must have discussions about an objective mechanism that would guarantee access to technology.
