WASHINGTON: (APP) The US State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that the United States is confident that Pakistan has the security controls they need to have in place on their nuclear arsenal.
He was responding to a question at a briefing about the safety of nuclear weapons in Pakistan. Mr. Kirby also stated that the US position on Kashmir remained unchanged.We want this to be worked out between both sides.
Referring to the ongoing tension between Pakistan and India, the spokesman stated that the United States would like to see the tensions brought down and a meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally.
To another question, the US State Department spokesman said that there were common threats and challenges with regard to terrorism in the region and the United States continues to work with Pakistan and Afghanistan, adding its a threat to India as well.
So we are going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, he said.
The spokesman did not agree with a questioner that leaders and militaries both in Pakistan and India did not want to resolve the issue of Kashmir.
He said that in the last 15 years, a lot of women have lost their soldier husbands and vice-e-versa. The killing has going on for long enough. The spokesman said that he disagreed with the question that leaders in those countries did not care because they send their children abroad for education.
They want them to get educations outside the country; thats not unusual. But thats a far cry from saying that they don't care about the children of their countries and their families and their society, he said.
Now, obviously there are still differences of opinion that exist between them; and as I said earlier, we want them to work through those differences. We have differences with many countries too, and we continue to try to work through them,
He hoped and expected that leaders in Pakistan and India would work to resolve their differences. But I we don't think for a minute we dont believe for a minute that they dont take the challenges before them seriously or the lives and security of their children, he added.