IT is the United States that has a proven history of nuclear aggression and trampling the sovereignty of smaller states.
Yet unfortunately it has the nerves to brazenly accuse others of being dangerous. At a Democratic Congressional campaign committee reception on Thursday, US President Joe Biden described Pakistan as one of the most dangerous nations in the world, adding the country has nuclear weapons without any cohesion.
It is not the first time that such uncalled-for and baseless comments have emanated from Washington against Pakistan.
Off and on, one keeps hearing such statements from the US officials which, in fact, have nothing to do with reality.
This only reminds us of the assertions that the US officials used to make about Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq which were later debunked.
The latest statement has come at a time when the recent meetings of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with the US Secretary of State and other officials gave the impression that the bilateral relationship is on the path of repair.
But it is once again abundantly clear that Washington is not ready to shun its carrot and stick policy.
In fact, it is not Pakistan but the US and some of its close allies such as Israel and India that pose a real threat to the peace and stability of this world because of their expansionist and hegemonic designs.
As regards the security of our nuclear program, it is not at all incohesive but very comprehensive, organized and multi-layered.
Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and its impeccable stewardship of the nuclear programme and adherence to global standards and international best practices is well acknowledged, including by the IAEA.
According to a US study on worldwide nuclear material security titled ‘National Threat Initiative Nuclear Security Index’ report for 2020, Pakistan is the most improved country after increasing its overall score by seven points.
On the whole, Pakistan ranked 19 with 47 points, while India ranked one place below at 20th spot with 41 points.
If the US has to raise points then it has to do so on the Indian nuclear program because in recent times there have been many incidents where raw uranium has been seen being sold in the Indian black market.
Whilst addressing a news conference in Karachi, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari very rightly pointed towards New Delhi which recently fired a missile into Pakistani territory accidentally saying this is not only irresponsible and unsafe but raises genuine and serious concerns about the safety of nuclear-capable countries.
Pakistan also achieved this nuclear capability after many years of investment and hard work in response to the Indian nuclear program.
So no amount of propaganda can compel Pakistan to roll back this program which has served the purpose to deter Indian conventional and nuclear aggression.
Neither also it will sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as it is discriminatory in nature. If it is essential to de-nuclearise the world then the lead must be taken by the US itself and disarm all their nuclear weapons transparently.
Though our government has strongly reacted to Biden’s statement with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif dismissing the concerns and expressing the seriousness that Pakistan attaches to the safety of its nukes, but we must also raise this issue forcefully during bilateral engagements with the Biden Administration which must be told that the Pakistani nation will never ever compromise on its nuclear capability.
Washington must realize that their irresponsible and misleading statements will not help the cause of taking the bilateral relationship in the right direction. Our side has always given importance to this relationship.
It is also for Washington to come out of its discriminatory policies and take steps that bring robustness in this relationship.
