Daily Times

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, 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.

PM Shehbaz said Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme was for defending itself “if God forbid there is aggression against Pakistan”.

Noting that the FO had given a “comprehensive response”, the prime minister said the missile programme was not his or any of the cabinet member’s but belonged to the entire nation.

“It’s dearer to them (the public) than their own hearts and there will be no compromise,” the premier asserted, stating that the country was united on the matter. Last week, the US said it was imposing additional sanctions related to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme, targeting four entities that it alleged were contributing to the proliferation or delivery of such weapons. Later, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer accused Pakistan of developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that could eventually allow it to strike targets “well beyond South Asia, including in the United States”.

However, showing caution, Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder refrained from direct criticism when asked about the US sanctions on Pakistan, adding that the US valued Pakistan as a partner in the region, having “worked closely” with the country on counterterrorism efforts in the past. Responding to Finer’s claims of Pakistan being capable of striking the US, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had termed them “unfounded, [and] devoid of rationality and sense of history”.

In a statement, Baloch had clarified that Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities were “solely meant to deter and thwart a clear and visible existential threat from our neighbourhood and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country”.

Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday assuring the government’s sincere efforts and contributions, expressed the hope that the talks initiated between the ruling coalition and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would bring about positive outcomes to promote peace and economic stability in the country.

The prime minister, in his opening remarks at the meeting of the federal cabinet he chaired, said that on the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s initiative, the first round of talks with PTI was held on Monday with the second one scheduled on January 2, 2025.

He said the government’s committee comprised Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaulah, Irfan Siddiqui, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Abdul Aleem Khan, Ijazul Haq and Khalid Magsi.

He said the process would meet success only if both parties set aside their likes and dislikes for the sake of national interests.

“I do not doubt anyone’s intentions. I hope both PTI and the government party will bring about the outcomes for the country’s benefits and promote the economic stability” the prime minister said and mentioned the reduced policy rate to 13%, inflation below 5%, constant surge in exports and remittances.

Referring to his meetings with Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Dr Yunus, and the presidents of Indonesia and Turkiye on the sidelines of the D-8 Summit in Cairo, he said Pakistan-Bangladesh ties were entering a new era as the latter had abolished erstwhile 100% scanning of Pakistan’s export products and special desk at airports for screening Pakistani passport holders.

Coming back to the US sanctions on NDC and other entities, the prime minister called the move illogical as Pakistan’s nuclear system was not meant for any aggression but only deterrence. He told the cabinet members that Pakistan’s nuclear system was very dear to its 240 million people and they would never make any compromise on it.