ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif criticised the US on Tuesday for imposing sanctions on his country’s ballistic missile programme, saying there was” no justification” for it.
Washington had announced on Dec 12 that it was imposing more restrictions on Pakistan’s long-range ballistic-missile system, including on the state-owned National Development Complex ( NDC ), which oversees the programme. The sanctions forbade US citizens from doing business with the precise entities and frozen any US home that was owned by them.
” Pakistan does not harbour any purpose in which its nuclear program is intense, it is 100 % in Pakistan’s army. Sharif told the members of the cabinet that it is only intended for punishment and nothing else.
Noting that his foreign affairs ministry had given a” complete answer” to Washington on the subject, Sharif said,” This program is not mine, nor any political group’s, it belongs to the 240 million people of this country, and it is lovely to them. The whole country is at peace on this topic, and there will not be any compromises.
According to a US condition department brief, the Islamabad-based NDC had sought to get parts for Pakistan’s long-range ballistic-missile initiative and missile-testing products. It stated the NDC “is responsible for the development of Pakistan’s nuclear rockets”, including the Shaheen community of weapons.
Prior to the US punishment, China and Pakistan engaged in significant military exercises. Last month, a leading Chinese military standard, General Zhang Youxia, visited Pakistan along with a high-ranking group. During his visit, Youxia, who is vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission ( CMC), which is the country’s military’s overall body under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, had personal conversations with Gen Asim Munir, the commander of the Pakistani army. Engagements between the two sides, according to the standard flyer, had focused on “matters of common attention, local security dynamics, measures for regional security, and enhancing diplomatic military cooperation”.
