ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday responded to the addition of seven Pakistani companies to the Entity List of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) which is managed by the United States Department of Commerce’s (DoC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
A statement issued by the FO said, “We have seen reports regarding the addition of seven Pakistani entities to the Entity List maintained by the BIS of the US DoC. The entities in question are private sector companies. Being added to the Entity List means that these companies will be subject to additional licensing requirements for access to certain US-origin items. We shall be seeking information from the US as well as these companies to better understand the circumstances which led to the listing.”
FO said that there should be no undue restrictions on the access to dual-use items and technologies for peaceful and legitimate purposes. FO also said that Pakistan had always been transparent and willing to engage with the suppliers of the dual-use items, including from the US, to extend guarantees regarding non-diversion through end-user assurances as well as arrangements for post-shipment verifications. FO further said that Pakistan had arranged for such post-ship verifications by certain other international suppliers of dual-use items to their complete satisfaction.
FO said that Pakistan’s efforts in the area of export controls and non-proliferation as well as nuclear safety and security were well known. FO also emphasised Pakistan and US’ history of cooperation in these areas.
FO further said, “It is well-known that the Entity List maintained by the US DoC is a dynamic list where entities and businesses from several countries, including from NSG member states, are added and removed based on the national technical determination made by the relevant US authorities. As such, we caution against unnecessarily politicising the issue. We reject attempts by Pakistan’s detractors to exploit these listings to cast aspersions on Pakistan’s non-proliferation credentials. Such attempts give rise to doubts about the motivation and timing of these measures which will be seen as being politically-driven.”
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