A dual-use equipment seized by India from a Pakistan-bound merchant vessel in 2020 is linked to Islamabad’s National Development Complex, which is involved in the country’s missile development programme, a new report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-terror financing watchdog, has said.
The report listed the case under a section on the misuse of the maritime and shipping sectors, including to transport a range of commodities, including dual-use equipment.
“In 2020, Indian Customs authorities seized an Asian-flagged ship bound for Pakistan. During an investigation, Indian authorities confirmed that documents mis-declared the shipment’s dual-use items,” the FATF report said.
“Indian investigators certified the items for shipment to be ‘autoclaves’, which are used for sensitive high-energy materials, and for insulation and chemical coating of missile motors,” the report said. It said these sensitive items are included in dual-use export control lists of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
The bill of lading of the seized cargo provided evidence of the “link between the importer and the National Development Complex, which is involved in the development of long-range ballistic missiles”, it said.
