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From sending its armada to support Islamabad during the 1971 war against India to sanctioning a Pakistani state-owned enterprise trying to develop long-range ballistic missiles that threaten Washington, the US-Pakistan relations have come full circle.
As per the Pentagon’s assessment, Pakistan is striving to join a small list of adversaries – Russia, North Korea, and China that can strike the United States territory. Islamabad’s sophisticated missile development program that brings territory outside South Asia within its striking range is inimical to the interests of the United States.
This is the first time that the US has sanctioned a Pakistani state-owned enterprise tied to missile development. Sanctions have been imposed on four Pakistani entities, including the state-owned National Development Complex (NDC), for their role in advancing Pakistan’s missile program.
The NDC has worked to acquire items in furtherance of Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program – including special vehicle chassis intended to be used as launch support equipment for ballistic missiles and missile testing equipment. As per the US assessment, the NDC is responsible for Pakistan’s development of ballistic missiles, including the Shaheen-series ballistic missiles.
The US’ Principal deputy national security advisor, Jon Finer, expressed concerns over Pakistan’s missile development activities at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event.
According to Finer, “If these trend lines (advancement in Pakistan’s long-range missiles) continue, Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including the United States, raising real questions about Pakistan’s intentions.”
Finer pointed out that only a small group of nations – Russia, North Korea, and China possess nuclear weapons and missile capabilities capable of directly reaching the US, making Pakistan’s actions particularly concerning. “It is hard for us to see Pakistan’s actions as anything other than an emerging threat to the United States,” Finer said.
The year 2024 has seen the regional security balance in South Asia being altered as India undertook a series of missile tests that the experts saw as adopting a more flexible deterrence vis-à-vis its two aggressive nuclear-powered countries – China and Pakistan.
Most of India’s military advancements have been made with an eye on China. However, despite grappling with economic woes, Pakistan is striving hard to match India’s pace of arms acquisition.
File Image: India’s Agni Nuclear Missile
India has been capable of striking the entire territory of its neighboring adversary in the West, Pakistan. New Delhi’s pursuit of longer-range systems, such as the Agni-V and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, is oriented at China, which is expanding its nuclear arsenal and has developed a larger missile force.
On March 11, India successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile, Agni-V, with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. MIRVs can penetrate ballistic missile defenses by overwhelming the defense system of the adversaries trying to intercept the multiple warheads.
A MIRVed missile would be armed with multiple warheads, allowing a single missile to hit several different targets at once or hit a single target with multiple warheads. Such a technology would also make MIRVs harder to intercept with anti-missile technology.
As per the Pentagon’s assessment, Pakistan is striving to join a small list of adversaries – Russia, North Korea, and China that can strike the United States territory. Islamabad’s sophisticated missile development program that brings territory outside South Asia within its striking range is inimical to the interests of the United States.
This is the first time that the US has sanctioned a Pakistani state-owned enterprise tied to missile development. Sanctions have been imposed on four Pakistani entities, including the state-owned National Development Complex (NDC), for their role in advancing Pakistan’s missile program.
The NDC has worked to acquire items in furtherance of Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program – including special vehicle chassis intended to be used as launch support equipment for ballistic missiles and missile testing equipment. As per the US assessment, the NDC is responsible for Pakistan’s development of ballistic missiles, including the Shaheen-series ballistic missiles.
The US’ Principal deputy national security advisor, Jon Finer, expressed concerns over Pakistan’s missile development activities at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event.
According to Finer, “If these trend lines (advancement in Pakistan’s long-range missiles) continue, Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including the United States, raising real questions about Pakistan’s intentions.”
Finer pointed out that only a small group of nations – Russia, North Korea, and China possess nuclear weapons and missile capabilities capable of directly reaching the US, making Pakistan’s actions particularly concerning. “It is hard for us to see Pakistan’s actions as anything other than an emerging threat to the United States,” Finer said.
Pakistan’s Quest To Match Indian Missiles
The year 2024 has seen the regional security balance in South Asia being altered as India undertook a series of missile tests that the experts saw as adopting a more flexible deterrence vis-à-vis its two aggressive nuclear-powered countries – China and Pakistan.
Most of India’s military advancements have been made with an eye on China. However, despite grappling with economic woes, Pakistan is striving hard to match India’s pace of arms acquisition.
India has been capable of striking the entire territory of its neighboring adversary in the West, Pakistan. New Delhi’s pursuit of longer-range systems, such as the Agni-V and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, is oriented at China, which is expanding its nuclear arsenal and has developed a larger missile force.
On March 11, India successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile, Agni-V, with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. MIRVs can penetrate ballistic missile defenses by overwhelming the defense system of the adversaries trying to intercept the multiple warheads.
A MIRVed missile would be armed with multiple warheads, allowing a single missile to hit several different targets at once or hit a single target with multiple warheads. Such a technology would also make MIRVs harder to intercept with anti-missile technology.
