ISLAMABAD, March 29: Pakistan on Saturday termed the US decision to impose a two-year trade sanction on the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) as unjustified and said it would not deter Pakistan’s resolve to pursue its indigenous missile programme.
In a statement the foreign office spokesman said: “The measure against KRL was unjustified.” However, the spokesman made it clear that the US decision had no material impact either on KRL, which was never dependent on foreign aid, or on Pakistan’s determination to pursue its indigenous missile programme.
“Pakistan would never accept any partial approach flowing from selective application of the so-called missile non-proliferation norms,” the statement said.
Officials here said the trade ban imposed by the US administration was more of a symbolic act that would practically and concretely have no impact on KRL.
According to the US law if they make a determination that certain foreign government entities are engaged in procurement or export of missiles that exceed certain parameters, then the US government can decide to impose restrictions on those particular entities, explained one senior diplomat.
An official announcement about the KRL being put on the list of banned entities was made in Washington a day earlier. Informed sources told Dawn that Pakistan had been informed of the move prior to the announcement, adding that Pakistan had protested, pointing to the proliferation activities in India. Pakistan had emphasized in talks with US officials the need to adopt evenhandedness on this question.
The measure against the KRL is seen as Washington’s response to allegations made by its intelligence agencies that North Korea and Pakistan were involved in missile technology transfer. This step is meant to bring to closure the long and strained debate, dialogue and media trial that blamed Pakistan for its involvement in the North Korea nuclear programme.
Analysts say, in concrete terms this step of banning trade with KRL has no impact on the programme since throughout the quarter century plus long history of the development of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, the US has never cooperated with Pakistan. This has been in sharp contrast with its (US) practice of overt and covert cooperation with India, the country that introduced the curse of nuclear weapons in South Asia.
Officials in Islamabad, however, also concede that in opting for this response “Washington has opted for the minimum possible measure.” This still does not erase the Pakistani complaint against Washington’ turning a virtual blind eye to India’s nuclear and missile programme.
