Pakistan with N-weapons without cohesion is 'one of the most dangerous nations in the world': Biden
Washington (PTI): US President Joe Biden has said Pakistan is one of the most dangerous nations in the world as it has nuclear weapons without cohesion.
He made the remarks while addressing a Democratic Party congressional campaign committee reception on Thursday.
And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion," Biden said.
The US president's remarks at the reception of the governing party were made in the context of the changing geopolitical situation globally.
The West has expressed concern over the safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Many in the West are worried that Pakistan's nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists or jihadi elements.
"Ever since May 1998, when Pakistan first began testing nuclear weapons, claiming its national security demanded it, American presidents have been haunted by the fear that Pakistan's stockpile of nukes would fall into the wrong hands. That fear now includes the possibility that jihadis in Pakistan, freshly inspired by the Taliban victory in Afghanistan, might try to seize power at home," Marvin Kalb, a nonresident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy programme at Brookings wrote last year.
The top US general Mark Milley had warned that a rapid withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan would pose an increased risk to the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
In his speech, Biden said the world was changing rapidly and countries were rethinking their alliances.
And the truth of the matter is I genuinely believe this that the world is looking to us. Not a joke. Even our enemies are looking to us to figure out how we figure this out, what we do.
There was a lot at stake, Biden said, emphasising that the US had the capacity to lead the world to a place it had never been before.
"Did any of you ever think you'd have a Russian leader, since the Cuban Missile Crisis, threatening the use of tactical nuclear weapons that would could only kill three, four thousand people and be limited to make a point?.
In a televised speech in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. He added that he was not bluffing.
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?
Talking about his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the US president termed him as a man who knew what he wanted but had an enormous array of problems.
Earlier this month, the US urged its citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan, especially its restive provinces, due to terrorism and sectarian violence.
Earlier this week, it emerged that Pakistan, once a key US ally, was not even mentioned in the US National Security Strategy 2022, which identified China as America's most consequential geopolitical challenge .
The 48-page document does mention terrorism and other geo-strategic threats in the South and Central Asian region, but unlike in the recent past, it does not name Pakistan as an ally needed to tackle those threats. Pakistan was also absent from the 2021 strategy paper.
A formerly warm relationship between the US and Pakistan frayed due to Pakistan's support for the Taliban in Afghanistan and the presence of large numbers of Jihadi militants on its soil. Americans have been particularly upset with Pakistan since 2011, after al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was found and killed there.
After a hiatus of a few years, Pakistan and the United States have started to re-engage. Over the past few weeks, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
