That the USA’s sanctions placed on a Belarusian and three Chinese firms should have caused Pakistan to protest should be surprising, but Pakistan had an interest because the sanctions were placed because the companies were deemed to be assisting Pakistan in the development of long-range ballistic missiles. It is no coincidence that the USA is displeased with Bekarus for its role as a Russian ally in the Russo-Ukrainian war and also with China, with which it is engaged in a global conflict. Pakistan is supposed to be a friend, but where the USA is concerned, it shows no hesitation in doing what India wants.
India badly wants admission in the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, and it is only Chinese insistence on Pakistan’s admission that is keeping it out. It has got US backing, even though Pakistan also meets the same criteria as India. By painting Pakistan as an underhand producer of missiles, and thus an irresponsible nuclear power, the USA is doing what India wants, which is the imposition of an unfair proliferation regime. Another salient feature of the US action has been its unilateral nature. Neither before nor after has it bothered to produce evidence, which means that there is no chance of correcting any mistakes it might have made, thus making Indian attempts to impose its wishes, and to manipulate the process, easier.
Pakistan may well have to pursue its missile programme in the shadowy half-world of the underground, but it should be understood that it cannot abandon it. The world community should realize that while India has all kinds of great-power ambitions to slake by its nuclear and missile programmes, Pakistan merely wants to survive, by establishing a minimum deterrence capability. At the same time, the USA should not join in with India in this attempt to blacken Pakistan’s reputation, which is only making a slight recovery after being maligned for decades. Now that the USA has taken this action, who will believe that Pakistan is no longer the haven for terrorists India still paints it as? More specifically, which foreign investor will want to come to the country? Is India killing two birds with one stone? It should be remembered that foreign investors often have to choose between India and Pakistan, and this latest incident puts a thumb in the scales for India.
