Key points
- Islamabad supports UN resolutions calling for a ban on nuclear testing.
- Pakistan highlights robust command, control, and export compliance systems.
- Allegations of clandestine nuclear activity termed baseless and malicious.
- Foreign Office cites repeated nuclear material theft incidents inside India.
- Pakistan urges global action over India’s unsafe nuclear record.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected India’s attempt to link US President Donald Trump’s remarks on nuclear testing with Pakistan’s nuclear record, saying New Delhi is distorting facts and misrepresenting the remarks to malign Islamabad’s responsible nuclear conduct.
Responding to a media query, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said India’s comments were part of its “malicious disinformation campaign” aimed at diverting attention from its own unsafe nuclear practices and poor record of nuclear security.
“The US side has already clarified its position regarding the President’s statement. For the record, Pakistan’s last nuclear tests were conducted in May 1998. Our position on nuclear testing is well established and consistent,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson reaffirmed that Pakistan has consistently supported United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing. “In contrast, India’s repeated abstentions on these resolutions reflect its ambiguous and questionable intentions on future nuclear testing,” the statement added.
Highlighting Pakistan’s strong nuclear safeguards, the spokesperson said the country’s nuclear programme operates under a “robust command and control structure, comprehensive export controls, and an impeccable record of compliance with the global non-proliferation regime.”
“Allegations of clandestine or illegal nuclear activities are baseless and malicious,” the spokesperson stressed, noting that Pakistan’s record demonstrates its commitment to international norms of nuclear safety and non-proliferation.
In contrast, the statement pointed to India’s “deeply concerning” record on nuclear safety, citing numerous incidents of theft and illicit trafficking of sensitive materials. “As recently as last year, radioactive equipment from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), along with the highly radioactive substance Californium — valued at over $100 million — was found on sale in India,” it added.
Andrabi urged the international community to take “serious note of these recurring incidents,” warning that India’s lax controls and thriving black market for sensitive materials “pose a grave threat to regional and global security.”
