The United States has taken strong action against Pakistan, imposing sanctions on four entities, including the state-owned aerospace and defence agency, National Development Complex (NDC), for their involvement in the proliferation of missiles.
The NDC, located in Islamabad, has been working on acquiring items to advance Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program, including special vehicle chassis and missile-testing equipment. The US assesses that the NDC is responsible for Pakistan’s development of ballistic missiles, including the SHAHEEN-series ballistic missiles.
In addition to the NDC, three other entities Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International, and Rockside Enterprise all based in Karachi, have been sanctioned for their role in supplying equipment and missile-applicable items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program.
Pakistan has responded to the sanctions, calling them “biased and politically motivated”. The country’s foreign ministry has also pointed out that some countries have conveniently waived licensing requirements for advanced military technologies to their favored states, undermining the credibility of global nonproliferation regimes.
