Pakistan rejects Trump's nuclear testing claims
What's the story
Pakistan has rejected United States President Donald Trump's claims that the country was secretly testing nuclear weapons. Trump had claimed in a CBS interview that countries including Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan are conducting such tests. Reacting to the claim, a senior Pakistani official said, "Pakistan was not the first to carry out nuclear tests and will not be the first to resume them."
Testing moratorium
Pakistan's commitment to nuclear testing moratorium
The official reiterated Pakistan's commitment to a "unilateral moratorium" on nuclear testing, despite not being a signatory to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The last time Pakistan conducted a nuclear test was in 1998. China has also dismissed Trump's allegations as "baseless." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated Beijing's commitment to a "self-defensive nuclear strategy" and adherence to its moratorium on nuclear testing.
Policy defense
Trump defends US nuclear policy shift
In the CBS interview, Trump defended his decision to lift the US moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. He argued that other nations are conducting secret tests, which require a change in America's policy. "We're going to test because they test and others test. And certainly North Korea's been testing. Pakistan's been testing," he said. CIA Director John Ratcliffe supported Trump's claims by posting on X about a 2019 Defense Intelligence Agency assessment suggesting low-yield nuclear tests by Russia and China.
Treaty status
CTBT signatory status and implications for nuclear testing
Notably, the United States, China, and Russia are all signatories to the CTBT, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996, but have not ratified it. For decades, only North Korea has been known to have conducted a nuclear detonation. Russia and China have not conducted such tests since 1990 and 1996, respectively.