The military confrontation between India and Pakistan came as the former blamed Islamabad for the Pahalgam attack. On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes on Pakistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Both sides then exchanged missiles, which stretched over the week. It took American intervention for both sides to finally drop their guns.
On May 10, when tensions between the two countries peaked, US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire had been reached between India and Pakistan. According to the government, forty civilians — including seven women and 15 children — lost their lives in the Indian aggression, and 121 others sustained injuries.
Speaking to Sky News, DG ISPR warned that by rooting for war, India was carving out a “recipe for mutual destruction,” adding that the world now recognised the extent of the nuclear threat.
“Any sane player like the USA understands this absurdity and what the Indians are trying to do here,” Lt Gen Chaudhry told the publications.
Talking about India’s actions in Kashmir, he accused the country of trying to “internalise the issue and harassing” Kashmiri people with a heavy troop presence.
“It is a problem that has to be resolved by the people of Kashmir as per the United Nations Security Council resolution,” he said.
He continued: “Anyone who tries to violate our territory and integrity and sovereignty, our response will be brutal.”
DG ISPR warned that a “serious escalation between India and Pakistan would destroy both sides” under the concept of mutually assured destruction — a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would result in the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.
In a press conference held last week after the ceasefire was brokered, DG ISPR had cautioned that a conflict between Islamabad and New Delhi “can lead to peril of more than 1.6 billion people.”
“In reality, there is no space for war between India and Pakistan,” he added.
Pakistan strongly condemns the remarks of the Indian Defence Minister on its nuclear arsenal, made today in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan says, “These irresponsible remarks reveal his profound insecurity and frustration regarding Pakistan’s effective defence and deterrence against Indian aggression through conventional means. Pakistan’s conventional capabilities are adequate to deter India, without the self-imposed ‘nuclear blackmail’ that New Delhi suffers.”
“The comments of India’s Defence Minister also show his sheer ignorance of the mandate and responsibilities of a specialised agency of the United Nations like the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)”, the FO spokesperson comments.
Furthermore, the spokesperson raised questions on India’s involvement in “repeated theft” and “illicit trafficking incidents” involving nuclear and radioactive material in India. He thinks the IAEA and the international community should be worried about that instead.
“Just last year, five individuals with a radioactive device reportedly stolen from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) were found in Dehradun, India.
Later, a gang of individuals was found with illegal possession of a highly radioactive and toxic substance, Californium, worth $100 million. Three incidents of theft of Californium were also reported in 2021.“
He questions the measures taken by New Delhi “for the safety and security of nuclear and other radioactive material.”
“These incidents also suggest the existence of a black market for sensitive, dual-use materials inside India.”
In his statement, he states that “Pakistan urges a thorough investigation of these incidents” and “calls upon India to ensure the safety and security of its nuclear facilities and arsenal.”
Earlier today, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said, “Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal should be under the surveillance of the UN’s nuclear watchdog.”
He questioned if “nuclear weapons safe in the hands of a rogue and irresponsible nation” and stated that “Pakistan’s atomic weapons should be brought under the surveillance of the IAEA.”