US President Biden calls Pakistan ‘most dangerous country’, draws ire

The US President made the remarks at a private fundraiser in California following which Pakistan summoned the US Envoy

File photo of US President Joe Biden. | ANI

New Delhi: US President Joe Biden said Pakistan is “maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world”, citing the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal, which is “without any cohesion”.

At a private Democratic Congressional Campaign committee reception hosted in California on Thursday, referring to his frequent interactions with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden 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? 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.”

Following this, Pakistan summoned the US Envoy Donald Blome for an official demarche. 

The Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad, too, released an official press note, rejecting Biden’s comment as “factually incorrect and misleading”. It further said that Pakistan and the US had a long history of a “friendly and mutually beneficial relationship” and that it was “critically necessary that sincere and durable efforts are made to recognise the real potential of Pakistan-US relationship” at a time of great global problems. 

The release advised against “unnecessary comments” and stated Pakistan’s “sincere desire” to work with the US to promote regional peace and security.

Soon after, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif  tweeted that Pakistan was a “responsible nuclear state” that takes nuclear safety seriously. Let no one have doubts, he added. 

Biden’s comment comes a few days after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad held a diplomatic reception on September 29 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of US-Pakistan ties. Previously, geopolitical disputes between Washington and Islamabad, especially disagreements on last year’s withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, had strained bilateral relations. Government-to-government relations were also stalled earlier this year due to a lack of contact between former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and U.S. President Joe Biden.

‘The world is changing’

Speaking at the event, Biden went back in history and remarked that America and world history is at a pivotal juncture where “all the countries are rethinking their place in the world and who their alliances are”.

Emphasizing on the role of next-gen technology, he further said that technological advancements have led to a profound shift in the status-quo which makes it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction.

He further added that US adversaries are now watching to see how the US handles the Russia-Ukraine war crisis.

“America is back”

From health to housing, Biden talked about how major bills had impacted the growth of the US and called for the Democratic house to be voted back in power. 

Talking about how he has managed to do more “in the past two years than any President has”, within the changing socio-political dynamics, Biden remarked that at a G7 meeting with “the most powerful democracies in the world”, he had said “America is back” after having been re-elected.

Elaborating on this, he talked of the American Recovery Act, 2009 and said that despite a million lives being lost to the pandemic, the American economy was able to stay afloat due to the Act since the states continued receiving funding for essential personnel such as medical practitioners. He further talked about the success of the Assault Weapons Ban law passed in July 2022 and the relocation of army veterans referring to his previous State of the Union address promise to provide accommodation to war veterans. He then went on to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and reduced Medicare bills.

Referring to when Xi Jinping asked him to define America for him, President Biden added: “Yes, one word: possibilities. We believe as Americans that anything is possible, anything at all.”

Mentioning the upcoming US midterm Elections on 8th November, he emphatically stated that what’s on the ballot is: “The right to choose. The right to privacy. Social Security and Medicare. Climate. Our very democracy.”