The United States has added seven Pakistani companies to a list of foreign firms it believes are likely to pose a threat to the country’s national security and policy interests. The companies were added to the Entity List, which means they will now need special licences to carry out their business in the US.

The US said it was imposing the sanctions as it suspects the seven firms of having links to the nuclear trade. The sanctions could hurt Pakistan’s ambitions to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the elite club of countries that can trade nuclear technologies, Reuters reported on Monday.

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In the latest Entity List published by the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security on March 22, there are 23 new names, including 15 from South Sudan.

Three of the Pakistani companies were listed for their alleged “involvement in the proliferation of unsafeguarded nuclear activities that are contrary to the national security and/or foreign policy interests of the United States”, the Hindustan Times reported. Sanctions were issued against two of them for allegedly procuring supplies for nuclear-related entities already on the list. Two others were added to the list allegedly because they were fronts for other listed entities. Another Pakistani firm is also on the list, but it is based in Singapore.

The Pakistani government and the seven sanctioned companies have yet to respond to the sanctions.

Ties between the US and Pakistan have been strained over Islamabad’s alleged support for Islamist militants in Afghanistan, Dawn reported. It is not yet clear whether these sanctions on the seven firms are part of US President Donald Trump’s general position against Pakistan. In recent months, Trump has accused Pakistan of “deceit and lies” and suspended $2 billion in military assistance for Islamabad’s failure to act against terrorists based in the country.