US generals concerned over Pak's nuclear arsenal in wake of Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Top US Generals has said they had warned US President Joe Biden that a rushed withdrawal from Afghanistan could increase risks to Pakistan nuclear weapons and the country's security, Dawn reported.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said: "We estimated an accelerated withdrawal would increase risks of regional instability, the security of Pakistan and its nuclear arsenals."

"We need to fully examine the role of Pakistan sanctuary," the general said while emphasising the need to probe how the Taliban withstood US military pressure for 20 years.

On August 31, the US completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan under the Doha accord it signed with the Taliban last year.

The top military officials have appeared first time before the Senate after the Afghanistan pullout.

General Milley and General Frank McKenzie, the leader of US Central Command, also warned that the Taliban Pakistan will now have to deal with would be different from the one they dealt with earlier, and this would complicate their relations.

"I believe Pakistan's relationship with the Taliban is going to become significantly more complicated as a result of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan," General McKenzie told the lawmakers.

The Centcom chief also said that the US and Pakistan were involved in ongoing negotiations over the use of a vital air corridor to access Afghanistan.

"Over the last 20 years we've been able to use what we call the air boulevard to go in over western Pakistan and that's become something that's vital to us, as well as certain landlines of communication," he said.

During the testimony, another top US General Mark Milley said that Washington "would have gone into war with the Taliban if it had stayed after the August 31 deadline".Both generals also disputed Biden's claim that al-Qaeda is gone from Afghanistan.

Underlining the concerns over Afghanistan's future, General McKenzie said that it's 'yet to be seen' if terrorists can be stopped from using Afghan soil as the launchpad", according to Sputnik.

( With inputs from ANI )