WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are secure, the top US military chief Admiral Michael Mullen said Monday, ruling out that they could fall into the hands of Taliban militants.
“I remain comfortable that the nuclear weapons in Pakistan are secure, that the Pakistani leadership, and in particular the military, is very focused on this,” Mullen, the US joint chiefs of staff, told reporters.
Asked whether the arms could fall into the hands of Taliban militants seeking to broaden their control of Pakistan, he replied: “I don’t think that’s going to happen … but it is a strategic concern that we all share.”
He stressed that US administrations had worked hard over the past years to ensure that the nuclear weapons in the volatile nation were secure.
“We, the United States, have invested very significantly over the last three years to work with them to improve that security. And we’re satisfied, very satisfied, with that progress,” Mullen said.
“And we all recognize, obviously, the worst downside of — with respect to Pakistan — is that those nuclear weapons come under the control of terrorists. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t see that in any way imminent whatsoever at this particular point in time,” he added.
His comments echoed those of President Barack Obama, who last week also offered assurances about Pakistan’s nuclear arms.
But according to the New York Times on Monday, the US government is increasingly concerned about the potential vulnerability of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal faced with a surge of Islamic militant activity.
Citing unnamed officials, the newspaper said the Obama administration was worried about the potential for militants to snatch a weapon in transport or to insert sympathizers into laboratories or fuel-production facilities.
The officials emphasized there was no reason to believe that the arsenal, most of which is deployed south of Islamabad, was facing an imminent threat, the report said.
But the United States does not know where exactly all of Pakistan’s nuclear sites are located, and its concerns have intensified in the last two weeks, after Taliban fighters entered Buner, a district just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital, the paper said.
Mullen, who has just returned from a trip to the Middle East and Asia, added that he remained concerned about the situation in Pakistan.
“The Taliban, aided by Al-Qaeda and other extremists in safe havens across the border, are recruiting through intimidation, controlling through fear, and advancing an unwelcome ideology through thuggery,” he said.
“I’m gravely concerned about the progress they have made in the south and inside Pakistan,” he said.
“The consequences of their success directly threaten our national interests in the region and our safety here at home.”
Obama is to meet at the White House with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday as well as Afghan President Hamid Karzai, before hosting a three-way summit to discuss the situation in the region.
“I’m encouraged by recent military operations in Buner, but it is too soon to tell whether those operations will have a decided impact over the long term,” Mullen added.
Washington is hoping that Islamabad will take the necessary political decisions to deal with the Taliban.
“Americans would like to see this move much more quickly,” Mullen said, acknowledging though that “this is their country, sovereign country, and the Pakistani people and the Pakistani leadership are going to move at their pace.”
