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US slaps curbs against Pakistan

C K Arora in Washington

The Clinton administration has publicly demonstrated its disapproval of Pakistan's missile programme, by slapping sanctions for two years against the Khan Research Laboratories -- a government undertaking responsible for developing the country's nuclear and missiles programmes.

Although the US had information about these programmes for long, what forced the administration's hands, according to informed sources, was Islamabad's provocative action last month in test-firing its medium-range Ghauri missile, capable of carrying nuclear weapons and hitting targets deep into India.

The US also indicated that the much-talked about Ghauri missile was built with North Korean technology. The Communist nation -- entirely responsible for stealthily providing technology to Pakistan -- has also been identified and subjected to harsher sanctions.

The US has proceeded against these entities under its domestic laws and the sanctions would come into force with effect from April 17 -- some 11 days after the test firing of Ghauri.

An official notification, issued in Washington said, ''The United States government has determined that entities in North Korea and Pakistan have engaged in missile technology proliferation activities that require imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, and the Export Administration Act of 1979, as carried out under executive order of August 19, 1994.''

The North Korean entity singled out for sanctions is Changgwang Sinyong Corporation (North Korean Mining Development Trading Corporation) and its sub-units, successor and affiliated companies.

The sanctions envisage denial to these entities new licences for import or export of any items and the US government contracts. Besides, no product produced by these entities will be imported into the United States.

North Korea falls in the US category of 'a country with non-market economy'. Therefore, according to the notification, these sanctions would apply to ''all activities of the North Korean government relating to the development of missile equipment or technology and all activities of the North Korean government affecting the development or production of electronics, space systems or equipment and military aircraft.''

India's Foreign Secretary K Raghunath, who was in Washington last week for high-level discussions with US officials on matters of mutual interest, drew the Clinton administration's attention to the threat posed to his country's security environment by the test-firing of the Ghauri missile.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Riaz Khokhar, in his reaction, expressed 'regret' at the decision and posed a question, ''Isn't this a negative development at a time when President Bill Clinton is visiting the region?

''It will, however, make no difference as we are not importing anything from the US for the Khan Research Laboratories (based in Kahuta),'' he added.

Observers in Washington agree with his statement, insisting that the US has no leverage via-a-vis Pakistan. Islamabad does not receive any economic aid from the US. Nor does it get any military assistance. The then George Bush administration in October 1990 banned all American economic and military aid to Pakistan, which had been of the order of about $ 650 million a year in the 1980s.

Then president Bush took this action in protest against Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme. He invoked a 1985 non-proliferation law, known as the Pressler amendment, to deny US aid to Pakistan.

Khokhar, who returned from Islamabad after consultations last week, however, said, ''The Americans themselves are playing it (the decision about the sanctions) down. They are not making a big issue out of this. They explain that they had to act under the law once a determination had been made. They have also made it clear that it is not linked with the test firing of Ghauri.''

He said Pakistan was aware of the impending decision. US Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, during his visit to Islamabad last month, had told Pakistani officials that the Clinton administration was considering sanctions against the country.

He said the Americans had maintained that they had to take steps under the US laws. The action was against the Khan Research Laboratories and not against the country as such.

Khokhar said Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan had pre-empted the US decision and given Pakistan's response in a statement. The minister had said, ''We want to engage in a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with the United States, but we also want Washington to appreciate our concerns.''

The Pakistani envoy said, ''Whatever may be the American argument, we regret this decision. It reflects discriminatory treatment. We have consistently maintained that discriminatory laws and their application are not going to serve the purpose of non-proliferation.''

It is not the first occasion that the US had sought to discipline Pakistan. Pakistan bore the brunt of US sanctions along with China in 1991 and 1993. These pertained to the import of China-made M-11 missiles, which attracted Category-11 sanctions.

The latest sanctions are of Category-1 which, under the Missile Technology Control Regime, apply to complete rocket systems, including ballistic missile systems, space launch vehicles and sounding rockets, unmanned air-vehicle systems, target and reconnaissance drones, specially-designed production facilities for these systems.

Meanwhile, Islamabad criticised the US sanctions as one-sided, discriminatory and unjust.

The newest US sanctions are of no practical consequence as the Khan Research Laboratories has no dealing with the US firms, a Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman said.

Pakistan said Ghauri's development was related to its security needs triggered by the Prithvi and other ballistic missiles of India.

UNI

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