WASHINGTON – The US intelligence community has warned that they believePakistan is developing more advanced nuclear weapons, which could eroderegional security.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told lawmakers during a majorhearing of US intelligence leaders before the Senate Intelligence CommitteeTuesday that Pakistan was in the midst of expanding their arsenalof short-range tactical nuclear weapons, cruise missiles to be launchedfrom planes and watercraft and longer-range intermediate ballistic missiles.
Pakistan is thought to have a modest (insofar as nuclear weapons go)arsenal of 160 warheads. That arsenal consists entirely of tactical andintermediate-range missiles, as Pakistan is not a global power and doesn’thave any real need for ICBMs.
“Pakistan will continue to threaten US interests by deploying new nuclearweapons capabilities, maintaining its ties to militants, restrictingcounterterrorism cooperation and drawing closer to China,” Coats said.
China came up many times in Coats’ testimony. He described Beijing as aprimary source of tension due to its tacit support of North Korea andclashes with other nations over territorial disputes in the East China Seaand South China Sea. Coats even ranked China over North Korea while listing”regional threats” in East Asia.
Coats added that the expansion of Pakistan’s nuclear program could causerelations with its nuclear neighbor and rival, India, to continueto deteriorate. Although the two nations have been at odds since they werepartitioned in 1947, relations have bottomed out recently as both sidesrepeatedly violate the ceasefire by attacking one another across thedisputed border in Jammu and Kashmir.[image: Demonstration in Kabul against Pakistan]Most recently, six Indian soldiers and one civilian were killed on theirside of the border. New Delhi blamed the attack on Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM),a Pakistan-based militia that they say has the support of Islamabad. ThePakistani Foreign Ministry said the charges carried “no credibility” andwere “premature and inopportune.”
Coats also complained that Pakistan harbors Islamic militant groupswithin its borders, a drum that the US has continuously beat since USPresident Donald Trump condemned Pakistan during his August speech on USstrategy in neighboring Afghanistan.
“Militant groups supported by Islamabad will continue to take advantageof their safe haven in Pakistan to plan and conduct attacks in India andAfghanistan, including against US interests,” Coats said.[image: Pakistani soldiers stand guard at newly erected fence betweenPakistan and Afghanistan at Angore Adda, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017]
Pakistan has denied sheltering Islamist radical groups and has pointedto their own operations against such organizations. But Coats claimed thatthis was performative, meant to alleviate pressure on Islamabad ratherthan a sincere commitment to stamping out Islamic militant groupsin Pakistan’s borders.
“Ongoing Pakistani military operations against the Taliban and associatedgroups probably reflect the desire to appear more proactive and responsiveto our requests for more actions against these groups.” However, Coatssaid, such actions “do not reflect a significant escalation of pressureagainst these groups and are unlikely to have a lasting effect.”
On Tuesday, Pakistani Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told Reuters that theUS, UK, France and Germany were pushing to add Pakistan to a globalterrorist-financing watchlist that could make it tougher for Islamabadto receive foreign loans.