Advertisement
US says ‘confident’ Pakistan can secure nuclear assets after uproar over Biden’s ‘dangerous nation’ remark
- The State Department said the ‘US values our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan’ after the president doubted Islamabad’s ability to control its nuclear arsenal
- Pakistan last week summoned US ambassador Donald Blome to lodge a protest
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
2
The United States said on Monday that it had confidence in Pakistan’s ability to control 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 spokesman 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.
Advertisement
Biden made the off-the-cuff remarks on Pakistan’s nuclear programme on 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.
Pakistan – proud to be the only declared nuclear power in the Islamic world – summoned US ambassador Donald Blome to lodge a protest.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x