The United States has imposed sanctions on four international companies accused of assisting Pakistan’s ballistic missile program.
A statement issued by the State Department in Washington said that three of the sanctioned companies are from China and one from Belarus.
The U.S. State Department’s statement said, “The United States is committed to strengthening the global non-proliferation system by curbing procurement networks supporting weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation activities. Under Executive Order 13382, we designate four entities responsible for WMD proliferation and their delivery systems today.”
The statement mentioned that three of these entities are based in the People’s Republic of China and one in Belarus, which provided equipment for Pakistan’s ballistic missile programs, including its long-range missile program.
According to the statement: “The entities we are designating today include Belarus’ Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant, and Chinese companies Long Xiang Technologies Development Company Limited, Tianjin Creative Source International Trade Company Limited, and Greenpak Company Limited. These entities were found to be involved in activities or transactions that practically contributed to the proliferation of WMDs or their delivery systems, or posed a risk of contributing to them, including efforts by Pakistan to manufacture, acquire, possess, or use such items.”
The U.S. State Department alleged that the Belarus-based Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant worked to provide special vehicle chassis for Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program.
Similarly, the Chinese company Long Xiang Technologies Development Company Limited is accused of supplying relevant materials to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program. Another Chinese company, Tianjin Creative Source International Trade Company Limited, has been accused of providing related equipment for Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program.
The third Chinese company, Greenpak Company Limited, is accused of collaborating with Pakistan’s space agency SUPARCO to supply equipment for testing large-diameter rocket motors.
The U.S. State Department stated that due to these sanctions, all properties and interests of the designated companies and their affiliated individuals in the U.S. have been blocked, and their information must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department.
According to the statement, “All individuals or entities owning a direct or indirect 50% or greater stake in the sanctioned companies will also be blocked.”
