President Barack Obama expected to press Pakistan about security of nuclear arsenal
US reportedly spent as much as US$100 million during the Bush administration to help secure Pakistan’s nukes, an effort that has continued under Obama.
The United States will discuss concerns about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal during a visit to Washington next week by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the White House said on Thursday.
The News York Times reported on Thursday that the Obama administration was concerned that Pakistan might be on the verge of deploying a small tactical nuclear weapon that would be harder to protect from falling into hands of militants.
I would not be overly excited about the prospects of reaching the kind of agreement that is being speculated about
The paper said the administration was also seeking to prevent Pakistan deploying missiles that could reach beyond its main foe India, and was thus exploring a possible deal to limit the Pakistani arsenal that could involve relaxing restrictions on access to nuclear technology.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest played down the prospect of an agreement when asked if there was a serious effort to reach a deal with Pakistan on nuclear technology in the run-up to Sharif visit, which is expected to start on Tuesday.
“I would not be overly excited about the prospects of reaching the kind of agreement that is being speculated about publicly,” he told a regular news briefing, adding that it was “not likely to come to fruition next week”.
“But the United States and Pakistan are regularly engaged in a dialogue about the importance of nuclear security. And I would anticipate that that dialogue would include conversations between the leaders of our two countries.”
