India accuses Pakistan of ‘illegal nuclear activities’ after Trump’s testing claim
MEA cites Islamabad’s history of clandestine proliferation as it responds to former US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Pakistan’s alleged nuclear tests
India on Friday (November 7) accused Pakistan of “illegal nuclear activities,” stating that “clandestine” nuclear activities were part of Islamabad’s history. The remarks by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal came in response to a question regarding US President Donald Trump’s claims that Pakistan was testing its nuclear weapons. Pakistan has denied Trump’s claim, stating that it was neither the first country to conduct a nuclear test nor would it be the first one to resume testing.
India flags Pak's nuclear record
The MEA further stated that India has drawn the attention of the international community to such nuclear activities of Pakistan.
"Clandestine and illegal nuclear activities are in keeping with Pakistan’s history, which is centred around decades of smuggling, export control violations, secret partnerships, AQ Khan network and further proliferation,” said Jaiswal.
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“ 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,” he added as quoted by ANI.
What Trump had said
In an interview with CBS News’s 60 Minutes last Sunday, Trump claimed that although the United States had avoided nuclear testing for more than thirty years, several nations, including Pakistan, continued conducting underground nuclear experiments.
“We’re going to test because they test. North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing. They don’t announce it. They do it deep underground, so people can’t tell—just a slight vibration,” he said.
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Responding to this statement, Pakistan rejected Trump’s allegation, asserting that it “was not the first to conduct nuclear tests and will not be the first to restart them.”
Trump further alleged that other countries, such as Russia and China, were also carrying out covert nuclear tests while keeping such activities out of public view.
Reviews operations of Kabul embassy
As for India’s bid to boost ties with the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, the MEA said that currently it was in the process of determining the functionalities, functions and responsibilities of its embassy, erstwhile technical mission, in Kabul.
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"We had the visit of the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan to India recently, since then, we've also had several exchanges in terms of development cooperation, as also a telephone conversation between the External Affairs Minister and the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan,” said Jaiswal.
“As far as our own embassy, the operation, the upgrading of our technical mission in Kabul is concerned, we told you that it has been upgraded to an embassy, and we are looking at how to now look at its functionalities, functions, responsibilities, how you want to increase its strength? So these are things that are under consideration, and they will happen subsequently,” he added.
Reaffirms commitment to Quad
As for India’s views on the Quad grouping, Jaiswal said New Delhi sees it as a valuable platform for discussion among the four members on issues of interest to them in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We see Quad as a valuable platform for discussion among the four Quad partners on issues of importance, of interest to them in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Jaiswal.
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“Quad is making steady progress. We recently attended the India Maritime Week in Mumbai. We had the Quad Ports of the Future Conference in Mumbai on 29th and 30th October,” he added.
Asked about President Trump’s possible visit to India, Jaiswal said, “As far as the comments of President Trump regarding his visit to India are concerned, I do not have anything on this to share. I will let you know when I have something to share about it.”