Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated on Tuesday that the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons is not under any threat in spite of the current political crisis in that country. Mullen added that President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency didn't have any significant impact on the US-led global war on terror in Afghanistan.
In an appearance at the Foreign Press Center to provide a national security update, Mullen also recalled his trip to India in April and said that he was bullish on "the continuing and emerging relationship between the United States and India."
In his opening remarks, Mullen said, "Pakistan's been a strong ally and we wish to see these emergency measures end soon." But he declared that the situation was stable from the military perspective.
"But we are watchful, as we must be, because the stakes are very high and the security there affects regional security, and regional security affects global security," he added.
However, from a military standpoint, said Mullen, the US mission in Afghanistan had not been affected by the imposition of emergency in Pakistan. "I haven't seen a significant effect. We still have our military-to-military contacts," he said.
"We continue the contacts, and so from that standpoint, the logistic support in terms of what goes through Pakistan to support our efforts in Afghanistan, we have seen no interruptions there," he said.
Stressing that the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons is not threatened, Mullen said, 'I see no indication that that's a problem."
Last week, he told a Pentagon press conference that he was aware about the discussions on the security of nuclear weapons in Pakistan in the wake of the political crisis. "I like to be very clearI do not see any indication right now that the security of those weapons is in jeopardy, but clearly we are very watchful, as we should be," he told the media.
When queried about Washington's options in case Pakistan's nuclear weapons fell into the wrong hands, Mullen said, "I try not to spend much time speculating on 'what if.'"
But he acknowledged that the US was "certainly part of the understanding of where we are with respect to those weapons, ensuring that they are secure, and being mindful and watchful of that."
Mullen added, "On a larger scale, or at a higher level, one of the challenges that we have globally is to control weapons of mass destruction, and that we all need to work together to do that. And I think that will continue to be a huge challenge."
"So to have a weapon a nuclear weapon that would be in the hands of a terrorist anywhere in the world would be a huge, huge challenge for all of us, and certainly the potential there is absolutely devastating," he said.