'Cause for concern': Pakistan points to India after US calls Islamabad's nukes a threat

Pakistan connected Friday rejected US claims that its atomic arsenal and rocket capabilities airs a menace to America, portion highlighting India successful its rebuttal. Islamabad insisted its atomic programme is “centred connected deterrence” with respect to its neighbour and nuclear-armed India.The Pakistani authorities besides dismissed Israeli envoy to New Delhi Reuven Azar’s statement of the state arsenic a “rogue state.”

A Pakistani overseas ministry authoritative Tahir Hussain Andrabi defended the state against US quality main Tulsi Gabbard’s assertion, saying, “Pakistan categorically rejects the caller assertion by a US authoritative alleging a imaginable menace from Pakistan’s rocket capabilities.”

He added, “exclusively antiaircraft successful nature, aimed astatine safeguarding nationalist sovereignty and maintaining bid and stableness successful South Asia.”Andrabi emphasised that Pakistan’s rocket programme is focused connected deterrence vis-a-vis India. “Its rocket programme, which remains good beneath intercontinental range, is fir­mly rooted successful the doctrine of credible minimum deterrence vis-à-vis India,” helium said.He contrasted this with India’s rocket program, saying, “India’s improvement of rocket capabilities exceeding 12,000 kilometres reflects a trajectory that extends beyond determination information considerations and is surely a origin of interest for the neighbourhood and beyond.”

Earlier, US quality main Tulsi Gabbard had named Pakistan among the countries posing the top atomic menace to the United States, on with Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea. She noted these nations are actively processing caller rocket transportation systems, with some atomic and accepted warheads, that enactment the US wrong range.“The quality assemblage assesses that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan person been researching and processing an array of novel, advanced, oregon accepted rocket transportation systems, with atomic and accepted payloads, that enactment our homeland wrong range,” Gabbard said. She besides highlighted North Korea’s increasing partnerships with Russia and China and noted that the US “obliterated” Iran's atomic enrichment programme successful June past year, adding that nary efforts to rebuild it person been observed since.