Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should take charge of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, shortly after the two nuclear-armed neighbours ended their worst military conflict in nearly 30 years.
Deadly fighting broke out between the old enemies last week after India struck terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam last month that killed 26 civilians, all men and mostly Hindu tourists, which it said was backed by Pakistan.
Islamabad had denied the allegations, and both countries sent missiles and drones into each other’s airspace in the days that followed, before they reached a truce on Saturday.
Call For Nuclear Oversight
“Are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of such an irresponsible and rogue nation?” Singh said while addressing soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar. “I believe that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons should be taken under the supervision of the IAEA.”
There was no immediate response from Pakistan to Singh’s comment.
The IAEA is a Vienna-based U.N. watchdog which monitors nuclear programmes to ensure they are peaceful.
India and Pakistan became nuclear powers after they conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998, and their decades-old animosity has made the region – the world’s most populous – one of its most dangerous nuclear flashpoints.
Nuclear Tensions Briefly Escalate
The latest military conflict between the South Asian neighbours spiralled alarmingly on Saturday, and there were briefly fears that nuclear arsenals might come into play as Pakistan’s military said a top body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.
But the Pakistani defence minister said no such meeting was scheduled.
Military analysts said this may have been Pakistan’s way of hinting at its nuclear option, as Islamabad has a “first-use” policy if its existence is under threat in a conflict.
India Won’t Tolerate ‘Nuclear Blackmail’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India would strike at terrorist hideouts across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail”.
Pakistan rejected Modi’s statements as being “provocative and inflammatory assertions”, saying it represents a dangerous escalation.
Hindu-majority India and Islamist Pakistan have fought three wars in the past, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
India also blames Pakistan for supporting Islamist militants battling security forces in its part of Kashmir, but Islamabad denies the accusation.
(With inputs from Reuters)
