Pakistan Not Surprised by India Deploying 12 Nuclear Warheads: FO

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Thursday delivered a wide-ranging and sharply worded response to multiple pressing security issues, anchored by a formal warning over India’s reported deployment of nuclear warheads with its operational forces — a development Islamabad said it had long anticipated and one with consequences that reach far beyond the South Asian region.

India’s nuclear deployment: Pakistan cites SIPRI findings

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, speaking at his weekly media briefing, said the findings of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) had validated concerns Pakistan has consistently raised. SIPRI’s latest assessment indicates that India may have deployed approximately 12 nuclear warheads operationally for the first time, tied primarily to its growing fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and an expanding sea-based deterrent.

“Pakistan is not surprised by these developments. These findings broadly corroborate concerns that Pakistan has consistently raised regarding India’s continued vertical proliferation.”

Andrabi cautioned that open-source assessments likely understate the true scale of India’s nuclear stockpile. He pointed specifically to the canisterisation of Indian missile systems, the rapid development of sea-based nuclear platforms, and India’s pursuit of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities that, in Pakistan’s view, exceed any plausible regional defence requirement.

“These developments carry implications that extend beyond South Asia and could have grave consequences for international peace and security.”

Pakistan clarified it was not seeking a numerical arms race but would continue taking measures to preserve strategic stability.

Indus Waters Treaty: any blockage is an act of war

Responding to statements by India’s water resources minister, Andrabi issued one of Pakistan’s most direct warnings to date on the treaty, calling any attempt to cut water flows to Pakistan a violation of international obligations.

“Pakistan will take all necessary measures to safeguard its economy and its vital national interests and the lives of its 250 million people.”

AJK, Middle East, and the Somali piracy case

The spokesperson dismissed India’s remarks on Azad Jammu and Kashmir in full, drawing a stark contrast between AJK’s constitutional governance and what he described as the systematic denial of rights under illegal Indian occupation in IIOJK. On the Middle East, Pakistan urged all parties to honour ceasefire commitments and make room for diplomatic solutions. Separately, the FO confirmed that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had personally raised with Somalia’s foreign minister the case of Pakistani crew members held by Somali pirates for nearly 50 days, describing the rescue effort as operationally complex given the tribal dynamics of the Puntland region.