US President Obama has said that the Pakistani military is equipped to prevent extremists from taking over the nuclear arsenal.—AFP

NEW YORK US President Barack Obama has expressed confidence that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are safe and said that the Pakistani military is equipped to prevent extremists from taking over the nuclear arsenal.

In an interview with Newsweek published on Sunday, the president stressed that 'Pakistan's sovereignty has to be respected' and said he felt strongly that Pakistani military was up to the task.

He was asked if he would be willing 'to keep the option alive to have American troops secure those nuclear weapons if the country gets less stable'?

President Obama said there was 'decided shift' in Pakistan army's recognition that 'the threat from extremism is a much more immediate and serious one than the threat from India'.

'We are trying to strengthen them as a partner, and one of the encouraging things is, over the last several weeks we've seen a decided shift in the Pakistan army,' he said.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...