The US on Tuesday reiterated its belief that Pakistan has the capability to secure its expanding nuclear stockpiles.
During a Department of Defence briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby was asked about Pakistan’s expanding nuclear arsenal and the fear that some of it may fall into the wrong hands.
“We’ve long said that we believe Pakistan is more than capable of securing their stockpiles,” Kirby replied.
A report by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) released on Monday, titled ‘Strategic Stability in the Second Nuclear Age’, said that Pakistan harbours the fastest growing nuclear weapons programme in the world which could have enough fissile material to produce more than 200 nuclear devices by 2020.
Pakistan, the report said, has deployed or is developing 11 delivery systems for its nuclear warheads, including aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
It also identified South Asia as the region “most at risk of a breakdown in strategic stability due to an explosive mixture of unresolved territorial disputes, cross-border terrorism and growing nuclear arsenals.”
