As Pakistan continues to knock at the doors of the international community against India’s decision to fully integrate Jammu and Kashmir, prime minister Imran Khan made a significate statement today. He said that Pakistan will not use nuclear weapons first, as any escalation between the two nuclear-capable countries will put the entire world in danger.
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Addressing a gathering of Sikh community in Lahore, Imran Khan said, “we both are nuclear-armed countries. If these tensions increase, the world could be in danger”. “There will be no first from our side ever,” he assured.
He repeated his rants against RSS in his speech, saying its totalitarian ideology will target other minorities like Sikhs and Dalits also, not just Muslims. He urged the Sikh community raise their voice against the RSS ideology. Imran Khan was addressing the closing session of International Sikh Convention at the Governor House as the chief guest.
His comments come just a few weeks after Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh saying that India may review its no first use doctrine of nuclear weapons if needed, indicating that India may not stick the ‘no first use’ doctrine if the government feels the need to use the deadly weapon.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s assurance of not using nuclear weapons came just a day after his cabinet colleague, railway minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, warned India that Pakistan has tactical nuclear weapons capable of causing targeted damage in India. “Pakistan has small 125-250 gram atom bombs which may hit a targeted area in India,” he had said while talking to media on Sunday.
While India has self-declared no first use doctrine on nuclear weapons, Pakistan does not have any such official position. Pakistan claims that its first use doctrine is entirely deterrent in nature.