Trump’s ‘Pak Testing N-Weapons’ Claim Poses Grave Threat To Nations Including Itself | World News

If Pakistan is indeed testing nuclear weapons, it poses a serious threat to many countries, including itself, given the instability it faces in the face of a faltering economy, serious security threats from armed rebels and the resurgence of religious radicals in the country.

The shocking revelation came when US President Donald Trump claimed in an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes program on Sunday that Russia, China, North Korea and Pakistan had conducted nuclear tests.

“Russia is testing, China is testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we are an open society. We are different. We have to talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to be reporting, they don’t have reporters to write about it. We are doing it. No, we are going to test because they are testing and others are testing. And certainly North Korea is testing. Pakistan is also testing,” he said. CBS News website.

The claim raises alarm, but there is no public record of it. Trump insisted that “they’re testing underground, where people don’t know exactly what’s in the test,” adding: “You feel a little bit of a vibration.”

Meanwhile, there were some unconfirmed reports that the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out precision strikes on Pakistan’s Kirana Hills during Operation Sindoor.

The rugged area near Sargodha Air Base apparently contained underground bunkers and a missile storage system filled with nuclear weapons.

Some social media reports and conspiracy posts claimed that the explosions caused local seismic activity equivalent to a 4.0 magnitude earthquake.

These reports were accompanied by comments on “satellite and thermal images” and speculation about the presence of US and Egyptian aircraft probing the area for nuclear control purposes.

However, officials in India, including senior officials of the IAF, have categorically denied any attack on Kirana Hills and added that they were not aware of any such nuclear facility.

The assumed connection between the reported seismic activities and the alleged attacks has not yet been confirmed, and there has been no confirmation from any official, geological or military authority that the earthquake was caused by human activities.

But given Pakistan’s domestic politics and economic tensions, even an outside chance makes a secret test risky and unstable.

Such action would sharply increase regional tensions, encourage an arms race, and have global diplomatic and economic consequences.

In a country that has historically seen civilian government replaced by military rulers, any overture from an army general perceived to be “ambitious” and who has recently spearheaded Islamabad’s diplomatic initiatives could end in disaster.

Pakistan’s last known nuclear tests were conducted in May 1998.

Meanwhile, Moscow reportedly carried out a nuclear explosion in 1990, and subsequent activities included subcritical or inefficient tests.

However, Russia tested the nuclear-powered cruise missile Burevestnik last month; some analysts have linked this to Trump’s interest in similar tests.

China’s last acknowledged nuclear test was in 1996, while North Korea’s last full-scale test took place in September 2017.

But just before Trump landed in South Korea for the final leg of his tri-nation Asian tour late last month, Seoul’s military agency reported detecting multiple short-range ballistic missiles.

It was said that the launch site was from the south of Pyongyang and the missiles traveled approximately 350 km towards the northeast. The launch was North Korea’s first ballistic missile test in five months.

President Trump expressed his desire to meet with North Korean President Kim Jong Un while embarking on his latest tour, which was met with silence from Pyongyang.