A senior White House official said on Thursday ( Dec. 19 ) that nuclear-armed Pakistan is developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that could eventually make it an “emerging threat” to the United States.
Since the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, deputy national surveillance director Jon Finer’s wonder discovery revealed how fragile the once-close relations between Washington and Islamabad have become.
It even raised concerns about whether Pakistan has changed the goals of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development, which were originally intended to defeat India, which has won three big war since 1947.
Finer stated to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that Pakistan has “increasedly advanced missile systems, from long-range ballistic weapon systems to products, that may allow the testing of considerably larger rocket motors.”
If those changes continue, Finer said,” Pakistan will have the ability to reach target properly beyond South Asia, including in the United States”.
The number of nuclear-armed says with weapons that you reach the US land “is very tiny and they tend to be adversarial”, he continued, naming Russia, North Korea and China.
” But, honestly, it’s difficult for us to see Pakistan’s actions as anything other than an emerging risk to the United States”, Finer said.
His speech came a moment after Washington announced a new round of sanctions against Pakistan’s nuclear weapon development program, including for the first time against the state-run defense agency in charge of it.
The Pakistani ambassador did not respond to a request for comment right away.
Islamabad’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are intended to preserve regional balance and serve as deterrents against Indian hostility.
Two senior leadership leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the US issues with Pakistan’s weapon program have been long-standing and stemmed from the size of the jet engines being developed.
According to one official, the danger posed to the United States is up to a decade away.
Finer’s remarks, according to the authorities, were intended to persuade Pakistani authorities to explain why they are developing more potent rocket motors, something they have refused to do.
” They don’t appreciate our fears. They claim we are biased, according to the next US official, adding that Bangladeshi authorities incorrectly assumed that US sanctions on their weapon program are intended to “hijack their ability to defend against India.”