ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it would not allow anyone to cast doubt on the safety of its nuclear program only a day after the United States announced it had blacklisted several entities for contributing to Pakistan’s “unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile program.”
The US commerce department upgraded its Entity List by adding the names of 27 foreign individuals and entities who were thought to be engaged in activities considered detrimental to the American national security and foreign policy interests.
Among them, 16 were said to be involved in the development of Pakistan’s nuclear and ballistic missile program.
“Let me say this clearly that Pakistan’s nuclear facilities and program are totally safeguarded,” the country’s foreign office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar told reporters during his weekly media briefing in Islamabad. “We do not accept any insinuations in this regard.”
Refusing to provide an elaborate answer, he said the government was still evaluating the development.
“We have seen the report,” he added. “At this stage, I can only say that we are reviewing it and will be offering our detailed response later.”
The US put individuals and entities from Russia, China, Japan, Singapore and Pakistan on its trade blacklist for contributing to the development of China’s quantum computing applications for military use, Pakistan’s “nuclear and missile proliferation,” and advancement of the Russian military.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo said in a statement the move would help prevent US technology from supporting the development of Chinese and Russian “military advancement and activities of non-proliferation concern like Pakistan’s unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile program.”
China also criticized the US for misusing its state power, as its embassy in Washington accused the Americans of employing “the catch-all concept of national security … to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises.”
“China is firmly opposed to that,” it added.
Pakistan says won’t let anyone cast doubt on its nuclear program’s safety
https://arab.news/c7kuy
Pakistan says won’t let anyone cast doubt on its nuclear program’s safety
- The foreign office issued the statement only a day after the US mentioned Pakistan’s ‘unsafeguarded nuclear activities’
- The United States also placed several Chinese and Pakistani entities on its trade blacklist
Pakistan’s Sharif hopes to further ties with Bangladesh as Rahman takes oath as PM
- Tarique Rahman’s election comes amid a thaw in relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh
- Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal also met Rahman after oath-taking, invited him to visit Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said he hoped to further strengthen relations with Bangladesh as Tarique Rahman took oath as the country’s new premier.
Rahman was sworn in on Tuesday after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s landslide win in parliamentary elections last week, the country’s first since the massive 2024 uprising and a vote billed as key to the nation’s future political landscape after years of intense rivalry and disputed polls.
The 60-year-old, whose term will last for five years, is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman. He is also Bangladesh’s first male prime minister in 35 years. Since 1991, when Bangladesh returned to democracy, either Rahman’s mother or her archrival Sheikh Hasina had served as PMs.
His election as PM comes at a time when Pakistan and Bangladesh appear to be coming increasingly closer, following a thaw in their relations since the ouster of Hasina, who was widely viewed as an India ally. Ties between Bangladesh and New Delhi remain strained over India’s decision to grant asylum to Hasina.
“Warmest felicitations to Tarique Rahman on having been sworn in as the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,” Pakistan’s Sharif said on X Tuesday evening.
“I look forward to close and meaningful engagements with my brother, to further strengthen our bilateral cooperation across mutually beneficial areas and to deepen the historic ties between our two countries.”
Earlier in the day, Pakistani Planning Miniter Ahsan Iqbal called on Rahman after his oath-taking ceremony in Dhaka and conveyed warm congratulations on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan on his election, according to the Pakistani information ministry.
“He extended best wishes for the peace, progress and prosperity of Bangladesh under his leadership,” the ministry said. “Iqbal conveyed a formal invitation from the prime minister of Pakistan to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at a mutually convenient date.”
Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of the same country until Bangladesh’s secession following a bloody civil war in 1971. However, Islamabad and Dhaka have lately been looking to strengthen institutional linkages to broaden their cooperation, following a reset of ties.
