Raising concerns over nuclear weapons in the possession of a “semi-unstable” Pakistan, Republican front-runner Donald Trump has indicated that, if elected President, he might seek the help of India and other nations to address the problem.
Trump, responding to a question on Pakistan’s “double-dealing” with the United States despite receiving American largesse, said at a town hall event in Indianapolis that the real problem presented by Pakistan is the fact that it has nuclear weapons.
Nukes are the single biggest problem for the world and nine countries have them, he said and went on to highlight his concerns over Pakistan’s nukes, noting: “Pakistan is semi-unstable. We don’t want to see total instability. It’s not that much, relatively speaking. We have a little bit of a good relationship. I think I’d try and keep it.”
“We give them money and we help them out, but if we don’t, I think that would go on the other side of the ledge and that could really be a disaster,” Trump said, adding: “At the same time, if you look at India and some of the others, maybe they’ll be helping us out…”
In a related development on Capitol Hill here earlier in the day, lawmakers voiced concern over continuing US aid to Pakistan running into billions of dollars at a time when Islamabad was just not doing enough to deal with terrorism.
“Despite giving Pakistan enormous amounts of counterterror assistance over the years—over $25 billion since 9/11—terrorist organizations continue to operate with impunity in Pakistan. Pakistan has used terror as a tool of statecraft, and terrorist proxy groups for the Pakistani military have carried out fatal attacks inside India,” said Republican Congressman Matt Salmon, who heads the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
Speaking at a hearing on FY 2017 Budget proposal for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Salmon voiced concern over the Obama administration’s recent attempt to push for a subsidized sale of F-16s to Islamabad, which the US Senate has put on hold for now.
Questioning the judgment and timing of the proposed sale, Salmon said that with India-Pakistan tensions remaining elevated, questions have been raised whether the F-16s could ultimately be used against India or other regional powers, rather than the terrorists as Pakistan has asserted.
Democratic lawmaker Brad Sherman also expressed concern over military assistance to Pakistan which he called a nation with “a history of terrorist activities, roughly 100 nuclear weapons and a very confused body politic”.
Sherman also criticized the proposed F-16s sale, commenting that the US ought to be offering only those weapon systems that are well-crafted to go after terrorists, rather than for a war with India.