According to US President, Joe Biden, Pakistan is “one of the most dangerous countries in the world” because it has “nuclear weapons without any coherence.” Islamabad on the other hand has called the US Ambassador to make an official protest in response to his remarks. These comments were made by Biden on Thursday when he was speaking at a Democratic Party congressional campaign committee reception and discussing the geopolitical scenario brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Did any of you ever think you’d have a Russian leader, since the Cuban missile crisis, threatening the use of tactical nuclear weapons that would-could-only kill three-four thousand people and be limited to make a point,”
he said, as he referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons. He further questioned about the political scenario around the globe including the relative of China to Russia, India and Pakistan. He deliberately bragged about his relation with Xi Jinping, while referring to the Russia-China ties. Later, he made his explosive comments about Pakistan being “one of the most dangerous countries in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”
Rejecting Biden’s comments, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted:
“Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and we are proud that our nuclear assets have the best safeguards as per IAEA requirements. We take these safety measures with the utmost seriousness. Let no one have any doubts”.
As per a PTI report, the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office stated that Biden’s remarks were ‘factually incorrect and misleading‘ and that Pakistan was a responsible nation, and the state knows how to control and manage its nuclear programme through a technically sound and foolproof command and control system.
Sharif futher mentioned that during the high time when the world is confronted with huge challenges, the relationship between US and Pakistan be made strong to recognise its true potential while avoiding unnecessary comments, adding that it is “our sincere desire to cooperate with the US to promote regional peace and security”.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also announced that Islamabad was following global standards. He stated that according to his knowledge the safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear assets are concerned, each and every international standard in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency were all met upto the standards.
Furthermore the Ambassador of the United States to Pakistan, Donald Blome was called to the Foreign Office of Pakistan for an official demarche by the Pakistani Foreign Minister. He further expressed his astonishment by the remarks of the US President and firmly believes it to be a misunderstanding caused due to the lack of engagement.
