WASHINGTON: The prospect of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump becoming US president variously causes excitement and concern among supporters and critics, but at least one country will be looking at it with dismay and panic as world leaders descend on New York City , his home turf, for the annual UN gathering .

The maverick millionaire wants to denuclearize Pakistan , and what's more startling, he wants India's help to do the job. “You have to get India involved. India's the check to Pakistan,“ Trump said in a radio interview after the host asked him what he would do if Pakistan, “the most dangerous country in the world other than Iran,“ became unstable.

“They (India) have their own nukes and have a very powerful army . They seem to be the real check... I think we have to deal very closely with India to deal with it (Pakistan),“ said Trump, setting off intense chatter among Pakistan experts whose approach to Islamabad's recklessness so far has been one of caution and discretion.

Although Presidential candidates have frequently called out Pakistan's involvement in nuclear proliferation and terrorism, they have been more restrained once in office. While Trump did not disclose more saying people should not know what exactly his intentions are and he'd like to leave a “little bit of guess work for the enemy ,“ he maintained that his remarks were not borne out of ignorance about Pakistan or geo-politics.“This has nothing to do with lack of knowledge, because I think I know as much about Pakistan as most other people... But I will tell you, I don't want to broadcast my intentions,“ he said.

“I want to be unpredictable with this. I don't want to be like Obama, where he's always saying you know, we're going to do this in two weeks and then we're going to do that,“ he added. Indeed, this is not the first time Trump has zeroed in on a country that has got a free pass and billions of dollars in aid from the US for much of its ragged existence. During the 2012 election cycle when he was considering a run for the White House, Trump had proposed that US cut off all aid to Pakistan till it gets rid of its nuclear weapons. “These are not friends of ours. We should not be giving them $3.2 billion a year,“ Trump said.

Trump's remarks came even as Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif arrived in New York, checking into the same hotel (Waldorf Astoria), as India's PM Narendra Modi, China's President Xi JinPing, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.The comments could undercut Islamabad's move to present “evidence“ of India's involvement in unrest in the country ,a move that is already a subject of ridicule given Pakistan's own well-chronicled record of hosting terrorists and terror groups that have carried out attacks on every neighbouring country and beyond.