Pakistan's nuclear security has vulnerabilities – U.S.

The United States believes Pakistan can protect its nuclear weapons but vulnerabilities remain, the director of the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency said on Tuesday.

“We have confidence in Pakistan’s ability to safeguard its nuclear weapons though vulnerabilities exist,” Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess said in testimony to the Senate intelligence committee, without providing details on what those weaknesses were.

The Pakistani government has come under repeated attack from Taliban extremists — including on the country’s military establishment in Rawalpindi late last year — raising questions over the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arms.

Burgess said the tribal areas in Pakistan continued to provide “valuable sanctuary” to al Qaeda and others and while attacks on these groups had disrupted some of their activities, they remained resilient.