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WASHINGTON: The US has taken significant action blacklisting entities in Pakistan, China, and the UAE for their alleged involvement in weapons and drone development programs.
These entities, primarily based in Pakistan, China, and the United Arab Emirates, have been accused of supporting weapons and drone development programs in Pakistan and Iran, as well as aiding Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
According to the Commerce Department, the blacklisted entities have violated export controls, participated in “weapons programs of concern,” or evaded US sanctions and export controls on Russia and Iran.
This move restricts their access to US items and technologies without government authorization. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez emphasized, “We are vigilant in defending US national security from bad actors”.
”Our actions today send a message to malicious actors that if they violate our controls, they will pay a price.” He added.
In Pakistan, nine entities were added to the trade blacklist for acting as front companies and procurement agents for the Advanced Engineering Research Organization, which has been on the list since 2014.
These entities have been disguising end users to procure US-origin items since 2010, which is contrary to US national security and foreign policy interests.
Additionally, seven Pakistani entities were blacklisted for contributing to the country’s ballistic missile program.
In China, six entities were added to the list for acquiring US-origin items to support China’s military modernization and aid Iran’s weapons and drone programs. This move is seen as a significant blow to China’s military expansion plans.
Furthermore, three entities in the UAE and one in Egypt were also blacklisted for attempting to acquire or obtain US components to avoid sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. These entities were trying to circumvent US export controls to support Russia’s war effort.
In a separate development, the US Commerce Department removed Canada-based Sandvine from the entity list.
Sandvine has taken steps to address the misuse of its deep packet inspection technology, which examines and manages network traffic. The company had previously been used for mass web monitoring and censorship, targeting human rights activists and dissidents.
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