United States President Joe Biden said Pakistan as “one of the most dangerous nations in the world,”. Biden made these comments citing Pakistan’s arsenal of nuclear weapons and a seemingly opaque command and control mechanism.
Biden said, “What I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world, Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”
“To be very clear, this is a sustainment programme for F-16s that Pakistan has long had. These are old planes and systems that they already have. We have a responsibility and obligation to whoever we provide military supplies to maintain and sustain them. Pakistan’s programme bolsters its capability to fight terror and terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan or from the region,” he added.
These comments from Biden came shortly after Washington okayed a $450 million sustainment package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet. This reversed the Trump administration’s decision in 2018 to suspend such assistance to Islamabad. The US pushed ahead with the package despite India voicing strong reservations.
Reacting to Biden’s remarks, foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the US Ambassador in Islamabad will be summoned for a demarche.