American journalist Seymour Hersh has destroyed his own chances of ever getting a visa to Pakistan. His recent New Yorker article about the US securing Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal has sent Pakistan’s journalistic circles into overdrive.

Daily Times reported on November 9: “The journalist wrote that during meetings with current and former officials in Washington and Pakistan, he was told the agreements would allow specially trained American units to provide added security for the Pakistani arsenal in case of a crisis. At the same time, the Pakistani military would be given money to equip and train Pakistani soldiers and improve their housing and facilities¿ The fear was ‘extremists inside the military might stage a coup, take control of nuclear assets or even divert a warhead’, notes Hersh. The report says the arrangement serves as a safeguard in case of a quickly escalating confrontation with India, but also makes the weapons vulnerable during shipment and reassembly.”

The US was quick to fire off a rebuttal, as reported in The News on November 9: “US ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson stated: ‘These allegations are completely false. The US has no intention to seize Pakistani nuclear weapons... Pakistan is a key ally in our effort to fight extremists and foster regional security. We work cooperatively on a wide range of security assistance initiatives, including efforts focussed on strengthening counterinsurgency capacities to foster stability. The US has confidence in Pakistan’s ability to protect its nuclear programmes, as secretary of state Hillary Clinton said during her recent visit to Pakistan.”

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