US president Joe Biden’s comment on Pakistan’s nuclear programme has led to an expected pushback from the country’s ruling government and the prime minister. After the foreign ministry summoned the US envoy, Shehbaz Sharif gave a strong response to Biden’s “Pakistan is one of the most dangerous nations in the world”.
“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 tweeted on Saturday, referring to the guidelines by the intergovernmental organization.
“We take these safety measures with the utmost seriousness. Let no one have any doubts,” he further added.
The US president’s comments were made at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Reception earlier this week.
While speaking of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the pressing global issues, China’s Xi Jinping, Biden made a mention of Pakistan: “….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 was further quoted as saying by the White House website.
The ties between the US and Pakistan hit a rough patch every now and then, especially over what has been called as Islamabad’s failure to crackdown on terror groups.
Meanwhile, a statement was also put out by Shehbaz Sharif’s office cited by Pak daily, to lash out at Biden’s comments, calling it “factually incorrect and misleading”.
