Pakistan says US sanctions 'unfairly' targets commercial entities 'without any evidence'

Pakistan on Thursday said the latest US sanctions on over a dozen Pakistani entities are "biased" and lack evidence.

"The recent imposition of export restrictions by the United States unfairly targets Pakistan's commercial entities without any evidence whatsoever," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan told reporters in Islamabad.

"Such biased and politically motivated actions are counterproductive to the objectives of global export controls and obstruct the legitimate access to technology for socio-economic development," he added.

Washington on Tuesday added 80 companies and institutes from China, Pakistan, and four other countries to its export control list to prevent US technologies and goods from being "misused" for missiles and other military activities.

In December, the US imposed sanctions on four Pakistani commercial entities for their alleged involvement in Islamabad's ballistic missile program.

Last September, the US also sanctioned Chinese suppliers and a Pakistani entity for their alleged involvement in Pakistan's ballistic missile program.

The sanctions follow a similar US action in April when Washington blacklisted four Belarussian and Chinese companies for supplying missile-related items to Pakistan's long-range missile program.