Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui on Saturday said the item seized by the Indian authorities was not listed in any international export-control list.

She was responding to a question about the inspection and seizure by India of an item from a Pakistan-bound commercial vessel.

The spokesperson said the Foreign Office had noted the reports about inspection and seizure. “In this regard, we have also been approached by the private company in Pakistan which had imported the item under question.”

The statement made it clear that the item under question “is a heat treatment furnace casing system which has several industrial applications. It is not listed in any international export control list.”

“Contrary to what is being claimed,” the spokesperson said, “the item was correctly declared in the relevant documentation and there was no attempt to hide or conceal any information.”

“Claims regarding the possible military dimension of the held item are factually incorrect. Similar furnaces are being used in several industries in Pakistan and the world over,” the statement read.