‘Net advantage for India’? What US sanctions mean for Pakistan’s relevance in Washington
Recent sanctions are further evidence of Pakistan’s relative decline in importance in the US, analysts note
The United States’ latest sanctions targeting Pakistan-based entities for their involvement in the country’s ballistic missile programme have bolstered India’s strategic position and underscored Islamabad’s fading relevance in Washington, analysts say.
The US sanctioned four entities on Wednesday, including the state-owned National Development Complex, that it said were contributing to the programme. A statement by the US Department of State said the entities were “proliferators of weapons of mass destruction”.
“Today, the United States is designating four entities that are contributing to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme. We have been clear and consistent about our concerns, and we will continue to engage constructively with Pakistan on these issues,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller posted on X.
Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, said the sanctions would benefit India by effectively limiting Pakistan’s ability to expand its ballistic missile arsenal, a development that New Delhi viewed as a strategic gain.
“Any attempt to weaken the growth of Pakistan’s missile development programme or any step to diminish the growth of any aspect of Pakistani proliferation programmes would be seen as a good thing in India, given its deep rivalry with Pakistan,” Kugelman said.
“From the zero-sum perspective, seeing its rival getting sanctioned is going to be a net advantage for India.”
