White House clarification of President Biden remarks on Pakistani nukes adds fuel to the fire
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WASHINGTON – White House reacted to Joe Biden’s comments about Pakistan’s nuclear assets as the issue stirred a diplomatic row between Islamabad and Washington amid already frosty ties.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there was nothing new in Biden’s statement regarding Pakistan’s nuclear assets, clarifying that the Democrat leader has made such comments before as well.
She however assured that President Biden supports a ‘strong and prosperous Pakistan’ as critical to US interests.
Biden called Pakistan ‘one of the most dangerous nations in the world’, saying because it has ‘nuclear weapons without any cohesion’, and his comments sparked a new diplomatic row at a time when the South Asian country is already facing a wave of anti-US sentiments.
Islamabad also registered formal protest over remarks by President Joe Biden questioning the safety of its nuclear weapons.
As White House officials tried to downplay his strange statement, experts said such statements will impact bilateral ties and certainly won’t help improve perceptions of the west in Pakistan.
Pakistan also summoned the ambassador of the United States to Pakistan, Mr. Donald Blome, to the foreign office of Pakistan for an official demarche,” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto said.
