Highlights – A former CIA officer has claimed that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are under the control of an American general. This statement is being widely discussed on social media. Previously, a senior Pakistani journalist had claimed that the US operates Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase.
A former spy for the US intelligence agency, the CIA, has made a significant claim regarding Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. This former spy, named John Kiriakou, stated in a podcast that an American general controls Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. He even claimed that this is why the Indian Army withdrew and that the threat of nuclear war between the two countries in 2002 no longer exists. Previously, Imtiaz Gul, a senior Pakistani journalist who has reported for years on Islamist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, made a similar revelation a few days ago regarding US control of the Nur Khan Airbase.
What did the former CIA officer say?
John Kiriakou said in the podcast, “A senior Pakistani military official recently told me that the Pakistani government has developed its nuclear arsenal.” Command and control has been transferred to an American general. And so that’s enough for the Indians, and they’ve begun to retreat. So the threat of nuclear war between the two countries that existed in 2002 no longer exists today.”
When asked whether al-Qaeda could seize Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, he denied it. He was asked, “When you were in Pakistan, you know, you were conducting counterterrorism operations, but in the larger strategic picture, there was always the concern that al-Qaeda could reach or infiltrate those who control nuclear weapons. And that’s what really scares me.” To this, he said, “I think that has diminished significantly. Where the risk exists is in nuclear materials that were under the control of former Soviet republics. But that’s not the case today.”
Claimed – India was about to launch a nuclear attack on Pakistan
He also claimed that while he was posted in Pakistan, the US Embassy in Islamabad was evacuated in March or April 2002. He said that the US had received information that India was about to launch a nuclear attack on Pakistan at that time. This is why the US Embassy was evacuated. At the time, only a handful of US officials, including John Kiriakou, were left inside the embassy, and a US helicopter was on standby to evacuate them. However, no information about this incident is publicly available.
