Pakistan defends nuclear safety record after US sanctions companies

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has defended its record on nuclear safety after the United States sanctioned seven Pakistani companies over alleged links to the nuclear trade, saying the suspicions over the companies should not be used to discredit it.

“We reject attempts by Pakistan’s detractors to exploit these listings to cast aspersions on Pakistan’s non-proliferation credentials,” said FO Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal in a statement.

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce imposed sanctions on the Pakistani companies on March 22, placing them on its “Entity List”, making it harder for them to operate in the United States and do business with U.S. companies.

The sanctions could complicate Pakistan’s bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 48-nation club dedicated to curbing nuclear arms proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that could foster nuclear weapons development.

The FO spokesperson said: “We have seen reports regarding the addition of seven Pakistani entities to the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce. 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.”

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The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce imposed the sanctions on the Pakistani companies on March 22 by placing them on its “Entity List”.

The companies had been “determined by the U.S. government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States”, the bureau said in a report on a U.S. government website.

The Department of Commerce’s Entity List does not freeze assets but requires that U.S. 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.

The FO spokesperson said: “Pakistan believes that there should be no undue restrictions on the access to dual-use items and technologies for peaceful and legitimate purposes.”

He further added that Pakistan had 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.

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 underlined.

The FO said, “It is well-known that the Entity List maintained by the US Department of Commerce is a dynamic list where entities and businesses from several countries, including from NSG member states, are added and removed based on the national technical determination made by the relevant US authorities. As such, we caution against unnecessarily politicizing 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.”

Pakistan applied to join the NSG in 2016 but little progress has been made. The United States has been concerned about Pakistan’s development of new nuclear weapons systems, including small tactical nuclear weapons, and has been trying to persuade Islamabad to make a unilateral declaration of “restraint”.