Pak has tactical nuclear bombs as small as 125-250 gm: Minister

Lahore, September 2 

Pakistan has tactical nuclear weapons as small as 125-250 grams which are capable of destroying a targeted area, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad has claimed, amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions over Kashmir.

Rasheed, a known motormouth, told reporters in Nankana Sahib in Punjab province on Sunday that the Line of Control with India and other bilateral accords with New Delhi had been ended by Pakistan after India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. 

Pakistan has as small as 125-250 gram atom bombs also, which may hit (and destroy) a targeted area,” The News newspaper quoted the minister as saying after he inspected an under-construction railway station building. 

His comments came as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been harping on the possibility of a military confrontation between the two nuclear armed countries over the Kashmir issue.

He said India should avoid a war with Pakistan, lest it proves the last one between the two nuclear armed countries. 

The minister, who suffered an electric shock on Friday while speaking against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally during the “Kashmir Hour”, said that if a war was imposed on Pakistan, India would be divided into 22 parts.

Reacting to Pakistan raising the nuclear issue frequently, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson earlier this month noted that Islamabad would like to project a “panic situation” in South Asia.

“From their side, they would like to project a panic situation, the international community does not think there is a war like situation. It is a ploy to deflect attention,” the MEA spokesperson said in New Delhi on August 9.  

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated after New Delhi on August 5 revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and  bifurcated it into two union territories.

Reacting to India’s move on Kashmir, Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian High Commissioner.

Rasheed claimed that India committed “two blunders”: firstly, conducting atomic explosions with a wrong perception that Pakistan would not do so; secondly, it scrapped special status of Kashmir on August 5, believing Kashmiris would not react to it. 

The railways minister, who cancelled the Samjhauta Express and Thar Express trains between the two countries after India’s decision on Kashmir, said only result-oriented dialogue could be started with New Delhi. 

He said, “a dialogue is possible if India takes a step towards resolving the Kashmir issue as per the United Nations resolutions”. 

He claimed the Pakistan government and all Opposition parties were united and on one page on the issue of Kashmir. 

Rasheed said while Pakistan was following the policy of peace, India had adopted an aggressive strategy. 

Last week he said that US President Donald Trump was “deceiving” both India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir. — PTI