The United States said on Monday that it had confidence in Pakistan’s ability to secure its nuclear arsenal after President Joe Biden expressed alarm, leading Islamabad to summon the US ambassador.
“The United States is confident of Pakistan’s commitment and its ability to secure its nuclear assets,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
“The US has always viewed a secure and prosperous Pakistan as critical to US interests and, more broadly, the US values our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan,” he said.
Biden made the off-the-cuff remarks on Pakistan’s nuclear programme last Thursday while at a private Democratic Party fundraiser in California where he began to discuss challenges facing President Xi Jinping of China, a close ally of Pakistan.
“And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion,” Biden said, according to a White House transcript.
The story came to light when the White House released the transcript on Saturday. Though the White House spokesperson later played down Biden’s remarks insisting the US President wanted stable and prosperous Pakistan, the damage had already been done.
The remarks triggered an immediate backlash from Pakistan, which summoned the US envoy in Islamabad to explain Biden’s uncalled for remarks.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted that Pakistan was a “responsible nuclear state” and that it takes safety measures “with the utmost seriousness”.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Biden’s remarks should not hurt relations, noting that the president was not speaking at an official function.
But Bilawal, who recently visited Washington, called for more interaction with Biden showing little interest in personally engaging his Pakistani counterparts.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Biden’s remarks should not hurt relations, noting that the president was not speaking at an official function. – AFP