‘Confident Pak can secure nukes’: State Dept after Biden’s ‘dangerous’ comment

Days after United States President Joe Biden caught the world’s attention with his “one of the most dangerous nations” comment on Pakistan, the US Department of State made a statement which seemed to be contradicting the commander-in-chief’s remark.

A “secure and prosperous” Pakistan has always been viewed by the US as critical to its interests, State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel was quoted as saying at a briefing by news agency PTI. “(The US is) confident of Pakistan’s commitment and its ability to secure its nuclear assets,” he said at the news conference.

This comes after Biden’s comments had led to a pushback from the country’s government in several ways. It first prompted the ruling government to summon the US envoy. Then, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a strong statement, calling the US president’s comments “factually incorrect and misleading”.

“Let me reiterate unequivocally: Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and we are proud that our nuclear assets have the best safeguards as per IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) requirements,” Sharif wrote in a tweet. “We take these safety measures with the utmost seriousness. Let no one have any doubts,” he further added.

Last week, Biden was talking about Russia and China and other matters of global concern when he said: “….And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”

“So, folks, there’s a lot going on. A lot going on. But there’s also enormous opportunities for the United States to change the dynamic in the second quarter of the 21st century,” he further said.