Dismiss US ambassador over Biden remark, says Pak’s Islamist party

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 17 (ANI): A top Islamist political party of Pakistan has demanded the expulsion of the US ambassador to Islamabad until an apology is issued for the “dangerous nation” remark by President Joe Biden.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said the former and current rulers in the country were American slaves while the people believed in bowing down to the Almighty alone, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
He said both Imran Khan’s PTI and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) were the pawns of the international establishment. That is why the Jamaat-e-Islami is now the only option that can make the country happy and developed, he added.
Last week Biden’s candid remarks on Pakistan set off a diplomatic row after the US President during a Democratic party event described the south Asian country as “one of the most dangerous nations” in the world which holds “nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”
The remarks on Pakistan were made while Biden was talking about US foreign policy with regard to China and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Biden concluded by saying he considered Pakistan to be the most dangerous country in the world.
“This is a guy (Xi Jinping) who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems. How do we handle that? How do we handle that relative to what’s going on in Russia? And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion,” said Biden, as quoted in a White House press release of his remarks at the Democratic party event.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rejected Biden’s comments on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons capability and called it “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 Office quoted PM Shehbaz Sharif as saying.
“Pakistan and the US have a long history of a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship. At a time, when the world is confronted by huge global challenges, it is critically important that genuine and durable efforts are made to recognise the real potential of the Pakistan-US relationship while avoiding unnecessary comments. It is our sincere desire to cooperate with the US to promote regional peace and security,” Pak PM was quoted as saying by ARY News.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also came to his country’s defence after US President Joe Biden questioned the precarious state of its nuclear program.
“Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state that is perfectly capable of safeguarding its national interest whilst respecting international law and practices. Our nuclear program is in no way a threat to any country. Like all independent states,” Nawaz Sharif tweeted.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan also reacted to Biden’s remark and asked on what basis US President made this statement. “Equally important, this Biden statement shows the total failure of Imported govt’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. (ANI)