John Kiriakou, a veteran CIA officer with 15 years of experience, has stated that Pakistan needs to accept that a war with India would yield no positive outcomes, emphasizing that Pakistan would lose in a conventional conflict. Kiriakou also revealed that during his time stationed in Pakistan, he was unofficially informed that the Pentagon held control over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
In an interview, Kiriakou, who previously led CIA counterterrorism operations in Pakistan, commented, “Nothing, literally nothing good will come of an actual war between India and Pakistan because the Pakistanis will lose. It’s as simple as that. They’ll lose. And 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.”
‘Pentagon controls Pakistani arsenal’
Kiriakou further shared that in 2002, while stationed in Pakistan, he learned that the Pentagon controlled the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.
According to Kiriakou, he was unofficially informed in 2002 that the US Pentagon managed Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, a fact that India was reportedly unaware of. He expressed doubt that the US ever informed India about this arrangement, given Pakistan’s consistent public assertions of full control over its nuclear assets.
In other news, India has reiterated its stance that it will not tolerate Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail and will respond decisively to any terrorist attacks.
India has demonstrated a strong approach to counter-terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, carrying out significant operations such as surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control in 2016, the Balakot airstrikes in 2019, and Operation Sindoor, which targeted terrorist infrastructure.
Kiriakou mentioned that while he focused on counterterrorism, a colleague handled matters related to Abdul Qadeer Khan, a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear program.
He also suggested that the US could have neutralized AQ Khan, who was heavily involved in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons development, had they adopted an approach similar to Israel’s. However, Khan benefited from the support of the Saudi government, which preferred him to remain unhindered.
Kiriakou’s career in the CIA spanned analysis for the first half and counterterrorism operations for the second. In 2007, he became a whistleblower, revealing the agency’s controversial torture program in a televised interview, which led to legal charges that were eventually dropped.