Pakistan’s nuclear strategy shifts as US realigns ties in Asia
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI—Pakistan on Tuesday rejected Biden administration officials’ assertions that it is developing ballistic-missile technology that could eventually give it the capability to strike the U.S., but geopolitical experts say long-range weapons would be in step with Islamabad’s shifting national security concerns as India and the U.S. draw closer.
The U.S. last week imposed sanctions on four entities involved in Pakistan’s missile program, including the National Development Complex, which it said oversees Pakistan’s development of ballistic missiles. Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said the sanctions were imposed after Washington and Islamabad failed to make progress in confidential talks.
U.S. intelligence points to efforts by Pakistan to develop equipment to test large rocket motors, according to White House officials. “Just looking at a map and looking at ranges, you know, we believe that this is fundamentally focused on us," said Finer at an event sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Arms Control Association in Washington on Thursday.
Pakistan hasn’t publicly acknowledged developing long-range or intercontinental ballistic missiles. Its longest-range publicly known missile is the Shaheen-III, tested in 2021, with a range of about 1,700 miles. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that there was no justification for the sanctions and that the country’s nuclear program is only for defense.
Over the weekend, the country’s foreign ministry called the claim that it has hostile intentions toward the U.S. “irrational" and said that Pakistan maintains the right to develop capabilities to deal with evolving threats. For decades,
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