The West’s “obsession” with Iran’s nuclear program could leave more room for Pakistan to get away with its own, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.
According to the Journal, the West’s pursuit of Tehran’s nuclear program undermines Pakistan’s increasing production of nuclear weapons and technology, which it supplies to North Korea, Libya, and Iran itself. The “obsession” on Iran’s “non-existent” nuclear weapons may be futile.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has been “wearing its nuclear weapons like a badge”. The country was on the brink of a nuclear war with India in 1999. The Mumbai attacks in 2008 were also linked to Pakistani terrorists. Bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan soil before he was hunted down, while the Pakistani doctor who helped in the hunt was charged with treason, an unmistakable sign of “anti-American” sentiment, according to Wall Street Journal. US-Pakistan relations were further severed after US drone strikes killed Pakistani militants and non-combatants.
Pakistan has presented itself as a US ally – receiving billions in aid and fighting Islamists militants alongside the west. The Journal reported that the West may be concentrating on Iran exactly because Tehran’s nuclear program is in its infancy and can still be stopped.
