“And I think that’s probably one of the most dangerous countries in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without reconciliation,” Biden said, as quoted in a White House press release at a Democratic Party event .
Biden’s “no reconciliation” remark exemplifies the current political turmoil in Pakistan—the power struggle and the all-powerful military’s grip on governance and administration.
Outgoing Pakistan Army Chief General Bajwa’s claim that the armed forces will stay away from politics has been accepted by a few.
Biden’s remarks also came shortly after Washington approved a $450 million package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet. This reversed the Trump administration’s decision in 2018 to suspend such aid to Islamabad. Despite India’s strong opposition, the US carried forward the package.
The security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons has been a major concern for the global community. Apprehensions have often been expressed about the possibility of theft or those falling into terrorist hands.
The country has a notorious track record on nuclear matters stemming from the racket run by nuclear scientist AQ Khan.
Khan established contacts with “rogue” states and ran a proliferation racket to shape Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
The United States banned most economic and military aid to Pakistan by the 1990 Pressler Amendment, until the US President certifies on an annual basis that “Pakistan does not have a nuclear explosive device and the proposed United States aid program Will significantly reduce the risk. Pakistan will have a nuclear explosive device.”
However, Pakistan emerged as a nuclear power in 1998, just days after India, with the Chagai test of a nuclear device, forced a recalculation of many equations.
Biden on China and Xi
In the same event, Joe Biden He also talked about a range of global affairs, including China, and what President Xi might consider on some important matters.
“This is a guy who understands what he wants, but he has a huge, huge array of problems. How do we handle it?” He said about Xi.
“Did anyone think we would be in a position where China is trying to figure out its role relative to Russia and relative to India and relative to Pakistan?”
Biden on Russia and Putin
Biden also spoke about the situation in Ukraine and his readings of the Russian president’s “calculation”.
“One thing that Putin decided on – relied on that we were splitting NATO. And look at what’s happening on the Eastern Front of NATO. Look what Poland is doing now. And Poland sticks there. But how about Hungary? Look what has happened recently in Spain and Italy,” he said.
“Did any of you ever imagine that you would have a Russian leader, since the Cuban Missile Crisis, threatening the use of strategic nuclear weapons?” he adds.