India Hits Back At Trump, Reminds Pakistan’s ‘Clandestine’ Past After POTUS’ Remarks: ‘Illegal Nuclear Activities Are In Keeping With Pakistan’s History’

On Friday, November 8, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) responded to US President Donald Trump’s recent claim that Pakistan has resumed nuclear testing. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal didn’t mince words.

He pointed out that secret and illegal nuclear activities fit right into Pakistan’s long track record of smuggling, dodging export controls, working with shadowy networks like AQ Khan, and spreading nuclear know-how around.

India Hits Back at Donald Trump’s Claim of Pakistan Resuming Nuclear Tests

“Pakistan’s history is full of clandestine and illegal nuclear activity, decades of smuggling, breaking export rules, secret deals, the AQ Khan network, and more proliferation,” Jaiswal told reporters. “India has always called the world’s attention to this, so we’ve taken note of President Trump’s comment about Pakistan’s nuclear testing.”

Trump Sparks Global Concern After Claiming Pakistan Restarted Nuclear Testing

Trump’s remarks come after he ordered the Department of War to resume US nuclear testing, something the world hasn’t seen since the Cold War.

That move sent a jolt through global security circles, raising fears of a new arms race as Russia and China step up their own testing. Trump defended his decision, saying countries like Pakistan and North Korea are expanding their nuclear tests, so the US shouldn’t hold back.

In his CBS 60 Minutes interview, Trump doubled down. “Russia’s testing, China’s testing, but nobody talks about it… North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing,” he insisted. He also claimed that both India and Pakistan nearly went to nuclear war earlier this year and took credit for stopping it. 

‘Pakistan was not the first to carry out nuclear tests’

Pakistan, for its part, denied Trump’s claim. A senior official told CBS News, “Pakistan was not the first to carry out nuclear tests and will not be the first to resume them.” 

So, how did Pakistan get here? The country ran its first nuclear tests in May 1998, thanks in large part to Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, a metallurgist who had worked in Europe and brought his expertise back home. Pakistan conducted five underground tests at Chagai Hills in Balochistan, calling the operation “Chagai-I.”

Now, Pakistan is believed to have about 170 nuclear warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) latest yearbook. SIPRI says Pakistan is still developing new missiles and producing fissile material at a steady clip clear signs the arsenal is growing, even as transparency and oversight remain weak.

India’s nuclear story looks a little different. It tested its first bomb in 1974, followed by the Pokhran-II tests in 1998. Since then, India has stuck to a policy of “credible minimum deterrence” and promises no first use.

It hasn’t tested any more bombs since 1998. Neither India nor Pakistan has signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

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