Claim: Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto gives a fierce and hostile rebuttal to the United States, telling Joe Biden to keep shut in response to him calling Pakistan one of the most dangerous nations in the world for owning nuclear weapons without any cohesion.
Fact: When asked about Joe Biden’s remarks during a press conference; Bilawal Bhutto informed the media that the US ambassador to Pakistan was summoned to the foreign office for an official démarche (a formal diplomatic representation of the official position on a subject from one government to another government). Bilawal Bhutto made no hostile or staunch remarks on behalf of the country.
Fact or Fiction?
On 14 October 2022, US President Joe Biden addressed a Democratic congressional campaign committee reception in Los Angeles, where he spoke about US relations with multiple nations, including Russia and China. A transcription of the speech is available on the White House website. In this speech, he added “Did anybody think we’d be in a situation where China is trying to figure out its role relative to Russia and relative to India and relative to Pakistan? …. How do we handle that relative to what’s going on in Russia? And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”
On 15 October 2022, Bilawal Bhutto held a press conference where he was asked about President Biden’s remarks about Pakistan. Bhutto replied saying that Biden made the remarks in an unofficial setting where he also spoke about US relations with multiple other countries. However, he expressed shock at Biden’s comments and has summoned the US ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome, to the foreign office of Pakistan for an official démarche to clear up misunderstandings. Bhutto stated, “this is exactly the sort of misunderstanding that is created when there is a lack of engagement”. He stressed that Pakistan meets each and every standard set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as far as its nuclear assets are concerned. He further added that if any country in the region should be questioned about its nuclear safety standards, it is India, who “accidentally” fired a missile into Pakistani territory recently.
Following this press conference, Neo News published an article reporting on the matter with the headline, “ جوبائیڈن زبان بند رکھیں،ہمارے ایٹمی اثاثے محفوظ ہیں: پاکستان کا امریکا کو منہ توڑ جواب،امریکی سفیر کی دفتر خارجہ طلبی ،ڈییمارش دیدیا” [Joe Biden keep your mouth shut, our atomic assets are safe and protected: Pakistan’s fierce reply to USA, foreign office summons American ambassador, démarche given]. This is based on Bilawal Bhutto’s speech as the text of the article cites, “ کراچی میں ہنگامی نیوز کانفرنس کرتے وزیر خارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہ” [In a fiery press conference in Karachi, foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto said…”]. Contrary to the headline, Bilawal Bhutto did not give a “fierce” or hostile response to the USA. He gave a measured response to the media, explaining the steps Pakistan has taken to clear the misunderstanding surrounding nuclear asset safety.
Virality
Soch Fact Check conducted an organic Facebook search using the following search term:
- “جوبائیڈن زبان بند رکھیں،ہمارے ایٹمی اثاثے محفوظ ہیں: پاکستان کا امریکا کو منہ توڑ جواب،امریکی سفیر کی دفتر خارجہ طلبی ،ڈییمارش دیدیا”
The search turned up several posts. The caption was posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. It was shared on Twitter here, here and here. It was also posted on news websites Nai Baat and Head Topics.
Conclusion: Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto did not give a hostile response to President Joe Biden for his remarks about Pakistan’s nuclear assets being unsafe. Instead, he issued a clarification and called for an official démarche with the US ambassador to Pakistan.