Pakistan summons US envoy over Biden’s ‘most dangerous nation’ remark

In apparently off-the-cuff remarks at a private fundraiser in California, Biden had described Pakistan as “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” and questioned its nuclear weapons safety protocols

US-Pakistan relations have soured after the US ended its two-decade war in Afghanistan

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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari speaks during a press conference in Karachi on October 15. Pakistan on October 15 summoned the US ambassador for an explanation after President Joe Biden described the South Asian country as “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” and questioned its nuclear weapons safety protocols. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:35pm, 15 Oct 2022

Pakistan on Saturday summoned the US ambassador for an explanation after President Joe Biden described the South Asian country as “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” and questioned its nuclear weapons safety protocols.

Biden made the apparently off-the-cuff remark late Thursday while talking about United States foreign policy during a private Democratic Party fundraiser in California, but the White House later published a transcript of his comments, sparking outrage in Pakistan.

Washington’s relations with Pakistan have soured since last year, when the US ended a two-decade war in Afghanistan.

Pakistan provided crucial logistical access, but US officials believe Islamabad’s powerful military and intelligence apparatus also aided the Taliban, who swept back to power as foreign troops pulled out.

Biden was speaking about his frequent interactions with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, when he said: “Did anybody think we’d be in a situation where China is trying to figure out its role relative to Russia and relative to India and relative to Pakistan?

“This is a guy who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems. How do we handle that? How do we handle that relative to what’s going on in Russia?

“And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”

Hours after the transcript of his address was posted, Pakistan summoned the US ambassador Donald Blome to the foreign office in Islamabad.

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