"We bought Musharraf, the US held the key to Pakistan's nuclear weapons," reveals former CIA officer

News Topical, Digital Desk : John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer, has made a shocking claim about Pakistan. Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, “When I was posted in Pakistan in 2002, I was informally told that the Pentagon controlled Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Pervez Musharraf handed over arms control to the United States because he feared nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists.”
Former CIA officer John Kiriakou has said that Pakistan was so mired in corruption that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto lived a luxurious life in Gulf countries while ordinary people starved. During this time, the US provided millions of dollars to Pakistan under former President Pervez Musharraf, essentially "buying" them.

Kiriakou, who served as a CIA officer for 15 years, said, "We had a very good relationship with the Pakistani government. At that time, General Pervez Musharraf was in power." He said, "The US likes to work with dictators because then you don't have to worry about public opinion or the media. So we bought Musharraf." He said, "Musharraf allowed the US to do whatever it wanted."

Musharraf allowed America to do whatever it wanted

Kiriakou claimed that we provided millions of dollars in aid, whether it was military or economic development assistance. We met with Musharraf regularly, several times a week. In fact, he let us do whatever we wanted. But Musharraf also had his own people to deal with. Kiriakou said that Musharraf merely kept the military "happy" and pretended to support the US in counter-terrorism operations while carrying out terrorist activities against India.

Concerns about Pakistani politics

India and Pakistan were on the brink of war in 2002. Parliament was also attacked in December 2001. Kiriakou said he was concerned that Pakistan's political issues might spill over elsewhere, as they become entangled in their own divisions. He said, "I am concerned about the ongoing disagreements in Pakistani politics, which are likely to spill onto the streets, as Pakistanis have a tendency to provoke themselves and people are killed during protests, political figures are attacked and assassinated, and the country is not known for positive decision-making by its transformative leaders."

According to Al Jazeera, Musharraf's autobiography, "In the Line of Fire," details how he decided to make a U-turn in his foreign policy by stopping support for the Taliban. Musharraf explained how he first considered the option of fighting the US. "I maneuvered the US as an adversary," he wrote, and assessed whether Pakistan could withstand the attack. 

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