US official: Pakistan developing missiles that could be used to strike the United States

Pakistan is developing a long-range ballistic missile capability that could eventually allow it to strike targets outside South Asia, including the United States, US Deputy National Security Adviser John Finer said on Thursday.

Islamabad's behavior raises "real questions" about its intentions, Finer added in a speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

"Frankly, it's hard for us to view Pakistan's actions as anything other than an emerging threat to the United States," he continued.

The US deputy national security adviser also said that Pakistan is seeking "increasingly advanced missile technology, from long-range ballistic missile systems to equipment that could enable it to test much larger rocket engines."

The senior US official's statements come a day after the US State Department announced new sanctions on Pakistan's missile programme.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned the US move as unfortunate and biased, and said it would harm regional stability by "seeking to highlight the military disparity," referring to the rivalry between Pakistan and India, two nuclear powers in Asia.

In April, Washington imposed sanctions on four foreign business entities it accused of being linked to Pakistan's ballistic missile program.

Pakistan has an arsenal of long-range ballistic missiles, including the Shaheen missile, and

Pakistan conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1998, becoming the seventh country to do so, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists estimates that Islamabad's nuclear arsenal contains about 170 warheads.

Source: Reuters