India has reacted to US President Donald Trump’s recent claim that Pakistan is among the nations testing nuclear weapons.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Pakistan’s “clandestine and illegal nuclear activities” reflect its long record of covert behaviour.
Trump made his comments last week. He included Pakistan on a list of countries testing nuclear weapons. He made this point while defending his administration’s plan to restart testing of US nuclear weapons, after more than three decades. His remarks came ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The MEA said that India has repeatedly highlighted Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation network. It also referred to AQ Khan, who died in 2021. Khan is known as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb. He built an international supply chain for nuclear and missile technology.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Clandestine and illegal nuclear activities are in keeping with Pakistan's history, that is centred around decades of smuggling, export control violations, secret partnerships, AQ Khan network and further proliferation.” He added, “India has always drawn the attention of the international community to these aspects of Pakistan's record. In this backdrop, we have taken note of President Trump's comment about Pakistan's nuclear testing.”
AQ Khan has been linked to an international nuclear black market. Reports have said he helped transfer nuclear technology to countries including North Korea and Iran.
Trump also said that restarting nuclear testing was needed to confirm the reliability of the US nuclear arsenal.