Pakistan’s yes to no on nuclear panel meet—all in 3 hours
Top government sources on Saturday said Pakistan’s bluff on exercising the nuclear option in the ongoing conflict with India had been called out.
The reference was made to two Reuters reports with contradictory contents on the subject, filed at a lag of three hours from one another.
The first report quotes the Pakistani military saying that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had today called a meeting of the National Command Authority, the panel that oversees the nuclear arsenal in the country.
“The Pakistan PM has called a meeting of the National Command Authority, the body that oversees nuclear arsenal, on Saturday, said Pakistan military after Islamabad launched a military operation against India and targeted multiple bases,” a Reuters report from Islamabad said at 8 AM.
The authority is the top body of civilian and military officials that makes security decisions including those related to the country’s nuclear arsenal.
Around 11.06 am, a second Reuters report quoted Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif saying no such meeting had been scheduled for Saturday.
The second Reuters report said, “Pakistan military had earlier in the day said Pakistan’s PM had called a meeting of the panel on Saturday.”
The US has called upon India and Pakistan to ease tensions with India conveying firmly that the onus of de-escalation was on Pakistan.
