A top Islamist political party in Pakistan has demanded the expulsion of the US ambassador from Islamabad until an apology is issued for the “dangerous nation” remark by President Joe Biden.
The Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Sirajul Haq, said that the former and current rulers in the country were American slaves, while the people believed in bowing down to the Almighty alone. He further said that both Imran Khan’s PTI and the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) were pawns of the international establishment. He claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami is now the only option that can make the country happy and develop.
Last week, Biden’s remarks sparked a diplomatic row with Pakistan when he described the South Asian country as “one of the most dangerous nations” in the world that holds “nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”
The remarks were made while Biden was talking about US foreign policy with regard to China and Russia. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rejected Biden’s comments on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons capability and called them “factually incorrect and misleading”.
“Over the past decades, Pakistan has proven to be a most responsible nuclear state, wherein its nuclear programme is managed through a technically sound and foolproof command and control system,” a statement from the PM’s office quoted PM Shehbaz Sharif as saying.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also came to his country’s defence. He tweeted, “Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state that is perfectly capable of safeguarding its national interest whilst respecting international law and practices. Our nuclear programme is in no way a threat to any country. Like all independent states,”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan also reacted to Biden’s remark and asked on what basis the US President made this statement. “Equally important, this Biden statement shows the total failure of the imported government’s foreign policy and its claims of “reset of relations with the US”? Is this the “reset”? This govt has broken all records for incompetence, “Khan added.