WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s bid to Nuclear Supplier Group membership may get ablow as Trump administration has added seven Pakistani companies to a listof foreign entities that presumably pose a significant risk to the nationalsecurity and policy interests of the United States by allegedly engaging innuclear trade.
The move could undermine Pakistan’s ambition of joining the NuclearSuppliers Group (NSG), an elite club of countries that can trade fissilematerials and nuclear technologies.
The move forms a series of decisions aimed at putting a squeeze on Pakistan.
The list, prepared by the US Bureau of Industry and Security, declares thatall seven companies are “reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose asignificant risk of being or becoming involved, in activities contrary tothe national security or foreign policy interests of the United States”.
In all, a total of 23 entities added to the list that was published in theUS Federal Register this week. Besides Pakistani companies, the listincludes 15 entities from South Sudan and one from Singapore.
All 23 entities now face stringent export control measures, which couldprevent them from conducting international trade.
Among the seven Pakistani companies three are listed for “their involvementin the proliferation of unsafeguarded nuclear activities that arecontrary to the national security and/or foreign policy interests of theUnited States”.
Two are accused of procuring supplies for nuclear-related entities alreadyon the list and the remaining two are accused of acting as fronts forlisted entities. An eighth Pakistani entity is based in Singapore.
The End-user Review Committee (ERC) of the US Department of Commercedetermined that Mushko Logistics Pvt. Ltd., Singapore, and MushkoElectronics Pvt. Ltd., Pakistan, be added to the list on the grounds thatthese entities procured items for several Pakistani entities on the entitylist.
The ERC determined that Solutions Engineering, Pakistan be added to thelist based on its involvement in activities contrary to US nationalsecurity and foreign policy interests. Specifically, the ERC determinedthat this entity has been involved in the procurement of US-origin items onbehalf of nuclear-related entities in Pakistan that are already on the ERClist.
For the remaining five Pakistani entities, the ERC determined that three ofthe entities, Akhtar & Munir, Proficient Engineers and Pervaiz CommercialTrading Co. (PCTC), be added based on their involvement in theproliferation of unsafeguarded nuclear activities that are contrary to thenational security and/or foreign policy interests of the United States. TheERC also determined that Marine Systems Pvt. Ltd. be added to the list forassisting Pakistani entities in circumventing US restrictions. The ERC alsodetermined that Engineering and Commercial Services (ECS) be added to thelist based on its involvement in supplying a Pakistani nuclear-relatedentity.
Companies dealing with the 23 entities added to the ERC list could facestrict licence conditions or licence denials. The licence requirementsapply to any transaction in which items are to be exported, re-exported, ortransferred to any of the persons or in which such persons act aspurchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee, or end user.
In addition, no licence exceptions are available for exports, re-exports,or transfers to the entities being added to the list in this rule.
The list also includes several addresses of each of the seven Pakistanicompanies in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
The move would also have a negative impact on Pakistan’s efforts to jointhe Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which was formed in response to theIndian nuclear test in May 1974. The group’s main objective was to preventother nations from conducting nuclear tests.
Pakistan applied for the NSG membership on May 19, 2016, after it appearedthat the United States and certain other Western nations are activelysupporting India’s bid to join the group.
Pakistan argues that NSG should adopt a non-discriminatory, criteria-basedapproach for inducting new members. Several countries support the Pakistaniposition.