Government Mocks Pakistan for Nuclear Meeting Fiasco
NEW DELHI: The Indian government has mocked Pakistan for calling a meeting of its National Command Authority, the top military and civil body overseeing the country’s nuclear arsenal, only to cancel it shortly afterwards.
According to news agencies, Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif told a TV channel that "This thing that you have spoken about (nuclear option) is present, but let’s not talk about it – we should treat it as a very distant possibility, we shouldn’t even discuss it in the immediate context."
Asif also stated, "Before we get to that point, I think temperatures will come down. No meeting has happened of the National Command Authority, nor is any such meeting scheduled."
While media speculated that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s phone call to Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir and foreign minister Ishaq Dar was behind the change of plan, government sources viewed it as an attempt to blackmail India into pausing its operations by wielding the N-threat.
A government functionary said, "They are bluffing, not realising that this does not work any more." The fear that Pakistan may unleash its nukes failed to deter India from carrying out surgical strikes in 2016, the Balakot air raid in 2019, and the precision strikes to avenge Pahalgam.
The Indian government has been vocal about its stance on nuclear weapons, emphasizing that it is a distant possibility and should not be discussed in the immediate context. The move by Pakistan to cancel the meeting has been seen as a strategic move to avoid any direct confrontation with India.
