Former CIA officer John Kiriakou recently pointed out that there was no use in Pakistan's constant quarrels with India, and that nothing good would come out of a "conventional war" between the two, as the "Pakistanis would lose".
The former chief of counterterrorism operations was stationed in Pakistan after the devastating 9/11 attacks in the US.
"I'm not talking about nuclear weapons—I'm talking just about a conventional war. And so there is no benefit to constantly provoking Indians," he told ANI, echoing India's concerns against Pakistan harbouring terrorists, ever since Operation Sindoor, which was a response to the devastating Pahalgam attack of April 22, which killed 26 people.
Just a day ago, India attacked Pakistan for defending a terror outfit at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), during an event celebrating the 80th anniversary of the UN.
"Few examples are more telling about the challenges facing the UN than its response to terrorism. When a sitting Security Council member openly protects the very organisation that claims responsibility for the barbaric terror attack such as at Pahalgam, what does it do to the credibility of multilateralism?" External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar questioned, at the event.
As for nuclear weapons, the whistleblower added that 23 years ago, Pervez Musharraf (then the President) handed over full control of Pakistan's nuclear weapons to the US, in return for "millions and millions and millions of dollars in aid". In that regard, he questions Islamabad's claims of owning a large nuclear arsenal, many years later—a claim it has often used to threaten India.
Kiriakou also insisted that the US, which once hesitated from killing Abdul Qadeer Khan—often labelled the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme—due to pressure from Saudi Arabia, had even told both India and Pakistan to keep their fights "short" and "non-nuclear".
"I can tell you definitively that the State Department was telling both sides—if you're gonna fight, fight ... If nuclear weapons are introduced, the whole world is going to change," he pointed out, claiming it was the reason why India-Pakistan tensions have never gone nuclear.
India continues to call out Pakistan for harbouring terrorism—a claim that Pakistan continues to reject.