ISLAMABAD: The US State Department said on Thursday there were no tensions with Pakistan following Washington’s move to impose sanctions on four international firms for supplying to the South Asian nation’s ballistic missile program.
In a press release issued last Friday, the US State Department announced sanctions against three Chinese companies and one Belarus-based firm on charges they supplied items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program.
Pakistan has said it rejects the “political use of export controls.”
“Absolutely not … Pakistan continues to be one of our most important partners in the region,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters in response to a question about tensions between Washington and Islamabad following the sanctions.
“There continues to be a lot of cooperation that we have with the Government of Pakistan, especially in the security space, especially in the trade sector … This is a robust relationship and we’ll look to continue strengthening it.”
The companies listed by the US for sanctions are the China-based Xi’an Longde Technology Development Company Limited, Tianjin Creative Source International Trade Co. Ltd, Granpect Company Limited and Belarus-based Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant.
The sanctions mean all property and interests in property of the companies in the US or in possession or control of American citizens are blocked and must be reported to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), according to the State Department.
They also mean that all transactions by American citizens, or those within (or transiting) the US that involve any property or interests in property of the companies, are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC.
No tension with Pakistan, US says after sanctioning firms for ‘aiding’ ballistic missile program
https://arab.news/63vcr
No tension with Pakistan, US says after sanctioning firms for ‘aiding’ ballistic missile program
- US announced sanctions against three Chinese companies, one Belarus-based firm
- Washington says the firms were supplying items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program
Pakistan lauds female polio workers as push to end virus intensifies
- Acknowledgement comes as Pakistan marks annual campaign promoting women’s rights and safety
- Ayesha Raza Farooq says the real strength of the polio program is its female workers and their bravery
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top polio official on Tuesday praised the country’s female vaccination workers for their “extraordinary contribution” to the eradication drive, saying their efforts were central to ending the virus as Pakistan marked the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an annual campaign to promote women’s rights and safety.
Female health workers administer the majority of polio drops in Pakistan, going door to door in remote, high-risk and conservative communities where women are best positioned to gain access to children.
Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world, alongside neighboring Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus remains endemic. The country has so far reported 30 cases this year.
“What you do is extraordinary, and your courage in all circumstances is the reason Pakistan will soon be polio-free,” said Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal person on polio eradication, during a meeting with frontline workers in Islamabad.
“Pakistan’s real strength in this program is its female polio workers,” she added.
Farooq said she had listened to the concerns of field teams and assured them of full government support.
She maintained that female vaccinators had shown “remarkable bravery” despite difficult terrain, security concerns and community resistance in some areas.
In October, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) named Farooq Pakistan’s first gender champion for her leadership in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in public health and in the eradication effort.
Pakistan is scheduled to kick off the last nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive of 2025, according to the National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC), with an aim to inoculate 45 million children.
The NEOC has also urged parents to coordinate with health workers during the campaign.
