'Nuclear' Pak should know its responsibilities: US NSA - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

US National Security Adviser, James Jones has said that Pakistan is a nuclear state, and that it should be aware of its responsibilities in this regard. Briefing media persons on President Obama's new Afghan policy here, Jones said being a nuclear power state, Pakistan has huge responsibilities. "Pakistan is a nuclear state and has enormous responsibilities within the community of nations that have nuclear weapons," said Jones. The former general said Washington has been in constant touch with Islamabad regarding these issues and expressed hope that both the countries would continue to work together to thwart the challenges posed by the extremists. "And they (the Pakistanis) are very well aware of that. We have regular consultations on those issues. I think the future of US-Pakistan relationship is bright and it transcends problems related to insurgents and nuclear weapons," The Dawn quoted Jones, as saying. This is probably for the first time that an official of Jones's rank has openly acknowledged Pakistan's status as a state within the international nuclear community. It is pertinent to mention here that Islamabad has been demanding the White House to grant the same status to Pakistan as it has given to India. Pakistan has also been pressing the US to sign similar civil nuclear deal like it did with India, however, it is unlikely that America would respond positively to those demands. Jones also stresses that the United States would not leave Afghanistan until terrorist safe havens in Pakistan's tribal areas were dismantled completely.