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,” 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.”
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.
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.
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