TEHRAN, December 21 (MNA) – Pakistan has dismissed recent remarks by a senior US official about its missile capabilities and delivery systems as "unfortunate and unfounded.In response to media queries, Ministry Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch highlighted the long-standing positive relationship between Pakistan and the United States, dating back to 1954.

She criticized the allegations as unhelpful and lacking evidence, emphasizing Pakistan’s goodwill toward the US, Pakistani the Nation website reported.

“Pakistan has made monumental sacrifices for this relationship and continues to bear the consequences of US policies in the region,” Baloch remarked, calling it regrettable that Pakistan was being unfairly compared to countries in adversarial relationships with the US She pointed out the apparent bias in focusing on Pakistan’s strategic capabilities while ignoring the more advanced missile programs in its eastern neighborhood.

Such accusations, she warned, risk undermining regional stability.

Pakistan reiterated that its strategic capabilities are designed to safeguard its sovereignty and ensure peace and stability in South Asia.

“Our credible minimum deterrence is essential in the face of evolving threats, and we cannot compromise on this right,” Baloch asserted.

Since 2012, Pakistani governments have made consistent efforts to address US concerns, she noted, stressing that the country’s strategic program is solely defensive and aimed at countering existential threats from its neighborhood.

“It should not be perceived as a threat to any other country,” she concluded.

MNA