US Official Warns on Pakistan's Missile Threat

Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer has warned that Pakistan's advancements in long-range ballistic missile technology constitute an 'emerging threat' to the United States, potentially allowing strikes beyond South Asia, including the U.S. This revelation highlights the deteriorating relationship between Washington and Islamabad since the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Finer's remarks, made during a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, question the strategic intentions behind Pakistan's missile program, traditionally aimed at countering India. The U.S. has responded with new sanctions targeting Pakistan's state-run defense agency involved in these developments. Finer noted that very few nuclear-armed states possess the capability to strike the U.S., indicating that Pakistan's actions cannot be viewed as benign. The Pakistani embassy has not yet commented on these accusations.