Biden’s remarks rejected, US envoy summoned

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI/IRVINE (CALIFORNIA): Pakistan on Saturday summoned the US ambassador for an explanation on President Joe Biden’s ‘off-the-cuff’ remarks about the Pakistani nation and its nuclear weapons.

According to the Foreign Office, acting Foreign Secretary Jauhar Saleem called in US Ambassador Donald Blome to deliver a demarche on the remarks made by US President Joe Biden during a Congressional Campaign Committee reception. “Pakistan’s disappointment and concern was conveyed to the US envoy on the unwarranted remarks, which were not based on the ground reality or facts. It was made clear that 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,” a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“The real threat to international peace and security is posed by violation of global norms by some states, repeated nuclear security incidents without any accountability, an arms race among leading nuclear weapon states and introduction of new security constructs that disturb the regional balance,” it said, adding that it was essential to maintain the positive trajectory of Pakistan-US relations and close cooperation between the two sides to build regional and global peace.

Rejecting the US president’s remarks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan had proved to be a most responsible nuclear state over the past decades. “Pakistan rejects the remarks reportedly made by the US President, which are factually incorrect and misleading,” he said in a statement. He said that over the past decades, Pakistan had proved to be a most responsible nuclear state and its nuclear programme is managed through a technically sound and foolproof command and control system. He maintained Pakistan had also consistently demonstrated responsible stewardship of its nuclear-weapons capability, marked by a very strong commitment to global standards, including those of the IAEA on non-proliferation, safety and security.

The prime minister mentioned that the real threat to international peace and security was posed by ultra-nationalism, violation of human rights in regions that are struggling against illegal occupation, violation of global norms by some states, repeated nuclear security incidents and an arms race among leading nuclear weapon states and introduction of new security constructs that disturb regional balance.

Shehbaz Sharif also pointed out Pakistan and the US had a long history of friendly and mutually-beneficial relationship. “At a time, when the world is confronted by huge global challenges, it is critically important that genuine and durable efforts are made to recognise the real potential of Pakistan-US relationship, while avoiding unnecessary comments. It is our sincere desire to cooperate with the US to promote regional peace and security,” he maintained.

Expressing surprise at the US President’s statement, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that US Ambassador Donald Blome had been issued an official demarche after consulting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the issue. “It was decided to summon the US ambassador to the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the issuance of an official demarche,” he told the media at the Bilawal House.

He stressed that all international standards laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were being followed for the safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear assets. Bilawal pointed out that if there were questions about the security and safety of nuclear assets, they should be asked from India, which recently accidentally fired a missile on Pakistani soil, which was not only an irresponsible but also highly risky act and raised questions about India’s ability to safeguard its nuclear arsenal.

The foreign minister said that the reason for the controversial statement of the US President might be a misunderstanding on the part of the US authorities due to a previous lack of engagements, but fortunately, now the two countries had embarked on the journey of restoring relations.

He said that if the safety of nuclear weapons had been a real concern, it would have been raised by the US officials during meetings with him. “The statement of President Biden came out at an informal ceremony which was not the president’s address to the nation or any formal ceremony,” he argued.

The PPP chairman reminded the press that former President Asif Ali Zardari had built his foreign policy on “trade, not aid” during his tenure and Pakistan had established relations with the United States as well as China. “He brought the country’s relations to a historic level and ties with Russia were restored after decades,” he added. He alleged that Imran Khan had tried to pursue a policy that damaged Pakistan’s relations with allies, neighbouring countries and Arab states, which the present government was trying to rectify.

He called by-elections an important event and appealed to the people to support the PPP and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) candidates. While talking about Imran Khan without naming him, the PPP chairman said that an ‘old man’ had arrived in Karachi the previous day and said that he would bring freedom to Sindh after a long march. “People should not be deceived by him because he was telling lies before and is still telling lies today. Imran Khan made irresponsible statements about the country’s nuclear assets in the past, causing the greatest damage to the democratic and economic existence of the people as well as Pakistan’s foreign policy,” he maintained.

He pointed out that Imran Khan had kept chanting “the same page, same page” (Imran Khan and the establishment on the same page) for three and a half years before 2022, but he had forgotten everything after he was ousted through democratic means. “Imran Khan did not want to give freedom to the nation but to take away their rights, and wanted to impose restrictions on journalism and run institutions like his so-called Tiger Force,” he alleged.

Bilawal said that the effect of undemocratic experiments in the country had been reversed forever. “Now it is important to trust the decision of the people and not to repeat the experiments of selected puppets. Whenever the people of Pakistan get a chance, the false narrative will lose and the truth would win ultimately,” he added.

PMLN supremo and former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, in his tweet, said, “Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state that is perfectly capable of safeguarding its national interest while respecting international law and practices. Our nuclear program is in no way a threat to any country. Like all independent states, Pakistan reserves the right to protect its autonomy, sovereign statehood and territorial integrity.”

Meanwhile, the PMLN official twitter account attached the statement of US President with the lobbying firm of PTI. In a tweet, it said, “The PTI’s lobbying firm in the US is doing what it was paid to do. Make no mistake about it; this is a direct attack on the national security of Pakistan.”

Federal Minister for Energy Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan said the doubts expressed by the US president about Pakistan’s nuclear programme were baseless. “Pakistan’s command and control system is absolutely secure and it has been confirmed dozens of times by international agencies,” he informed media representatives at a press conference at GEPCO headquarters.

The minister said the disruption in electricity supply had been completely removed. “NEPRA has fixed the fuel price adjustment for October at just 19 paisa per unit, which is Rs9.70 paisa less than June. This will bring great relief to the public,” he added.

He said that the news of a hike of Rs3.21 per unit in the price of electricity was not true. “The per unit price of electricity will remain the same in October,” he added.

Former prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said he was surprised at the US president’s comments, which contradicted their past statements.

Talking to The News, the former premier said the Nuclear Threat Initiative had placed Pakistan ahead of India over safety and security of nuclear materials and assets. “The US administration in the past has always expressed satisfaction over the safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear assets at the highest level,” he added.

Federal Minister Khursheed Shah also rejected the apprehensions of US President about Pakistan’s nuclear assets. He said that Pakistan was the only nuclear power in the Muslim world. “The statement is in fact an expression of mistrust in Muslims. Pakistan is the most responsible nuclear power and it has never misused its nuclear assets. Despite being a big nuclear power, Pakistan always exercised restraint with India,” he added.

He alleged that Imran Khan was on the agenda of foreign powers in Pakistan. “The real agenda of Imran Khan is rolling up the nuclear program. This is the agenda of Jews and the nation should realise it. Imran Khan is busy destabilising Pakistan under his agenda,” he charged.

Taking an exception to Aitzaz Ahsan’s statement, he said it was his personal opinion but he should have realised his mistake.

Meanwhile, the White House has said that US President Joe Biden’s remarks pertaining to Pakistan’s nuclear programme were “nothing new” as he has made such comments before.

The president of the United States had earlier alleged that Pakistan’s nuclear programme lacks “cohesion” and that it was among the world’s most dangerous nations.

In response to a question during a press gaggle, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden views a secure and prosperous Pakistan as critical to US interests. “So that is something (about what his views have) been on Pakistan,” the press secretary said. “More specifically he’s made those comments before, so that is nothing new — what you heard from him last night.”

Defending Biden’s remarks, the press secretary said that Biden believes in a secure and prosperous Pakistan, and so he thinks that’s “important to US interests”.

Earlier, President Joe Biden had described the country as “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” and questioned its nuclear weapons safety protocols. Biden made the apparently off-the-cuff remark while talking about United States foreign policy during a private Democratic Party fundraiser in California, but the White House later published a transcript of his comments, sparking outrage in Pakistan.

Biden was speaking about his frequent interactions with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, when he said: “Did anybody think we’d be in a situation where China is trying to figure out its role relative to Russia and relative to India and relative to Pakistan?

“This is a guy who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems. How do we handle that? How do we handle that relative to what’s going on in Russia? And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”