The administration of US President Barack Obama is examining ways to limit Pakistan’s nuclear weapons stockpile, considered as the world’s fastest-growing nuclear arsenal in the world.
Washington is in talks with Islamabad to reach a nuclear arms control deal, ahead of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the White House next week, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The negotiations are focused on US concerns that Pakistan might deploy a small tactical nuclear weapon that is far more difficult to secure than the country’s arsenal of larger weapons, the newspaper said.
The tactical nuclear weapons are explicitly modeled on weapons the United States deployed in Europe during the Cold War to deter an invasion from the former Soviet Union.
But outside experts familiar with the negotiations have expressed deep skepticism that Pakistan is ready to put any limitations on a program that it considers the pride of the nation.
The Washington Post first reported on the talks a week ago. Obama administration officials have declined to comment on the talks before Sharif’s visit.