In an interview former White House security boss during Donald Trump’s presidency, John Bolton said there were fears the regime would claim the devastating weapons from Pakistan.
The Taliban could arm themselves with up to 150 nuclear warheads after retaking control of the country, an ex-security advisor has warned.
John Bolton, former White House security manager during Donald Trump’s presidency, said that there were fears that the regime would take over the devastating weapons from Pakistan.
After the US withdrew last month, the Taliban quickly took control of Kabul and triggered chaos at the capital’s airport.
The evacuation of Kabul saw 165 flights remove more than 15,000 people in just a fortnight – with the 16 Air Assault Brigade at the forefront of Operation Pitting which involved more than 1,000 personnel.
Now, Mr. Bolton, who served as a national security adviser between April 2018 and September 2019 under former US President Donald Trump’s administration, has warned of further threats.
In an interview with WABC 770, he said: “The Taliban in control of Afghanistan threatens the possibility of terrorists taking control of Pakistan too.
“That means maybe 150 nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists which is a real threat to us and our friends.”
This comes after it was reported that the Taliban had hired Chinese cyber-spies to spy on Afghan civilians as part of their mission to stop rebellions against their iron rule.
Beijing sent its top communications experts to Kabul to demonstrate to the Taliban how to intercept calls from landlines and mobile networks and monitor internet and social media use.
Sources in Western intelligence say that the objective is to prevent social media rebellions, which happened throughout the Middle East during Arab Spring.
A US intelligence source said: “China has been wooing the Taliban, preparing for this day for years.
“It has controlled citizen communication for a long time and has become adept at monitoring phones, the internet, all forms of communication.
“This is likely to give the Taliban immense power and control over the entire country as social media could be an enabler to those wanting to revolt. It also gives people they are hunting down, such as former officials and security personnel, few options in how they communicate with other networks.”