ISLAMABAD – Foreign Office spokesperson Dr. Muhammad Faisal on Tuesdaysaid that we have seen reports regarding the addition of seven Pakistanientities to the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry andSecurity of the US Department of Commerce.

In a *press release link,,>*,he said the entities in question are private sector companies and beingadded to the Entity List means that these companies will be subject toadditional licensing requirements for access to certain US-origin items.

Spokesperson said we shall be seeking information from the US as well asthese companies to better understand the circumstances which led to thelisting.

He said Pakistan believes that there should be no undue restrictions on theaccess to dual-use items and technologies for peaceful and legitimatepurposes.

He said Pakistan’s efforts in the area of export controls andnon-proliferation as well as nuclear safety and security are well known andPakistan and US have a history of cooperation in these areas.

Spokesperson said it is well-known that the Entity List maintained by theUS Department of Commerce is a dynamic list where entities and businessesfrom several countries, including from NSG member states, are added andremoved based on the national technical determination made by the relevantUS authorities.

He said we reject attempts by Pakistan’s detractors to exploit theselistings to cast aspersions on our non-proliferation credentials.

Foreign Office spokesperson said such attempts give rise to doubts aboutthe motivation and timing of these measures which will be seen as beingpolitically-driven.