A Pakistani government minister has warned India that their nuclear arsenal are ‘not kept as models’ and were ‘targeted’ at India as tensions rise in the disputed Kashmir region
A government minister has issued a chilling World War Three warning that they have ‘130 nukes’ aimed at another country amid growing tensions.
The threat came from a Pakistani government minister, who threatened to use the nation’s nuclear weapons against India as hostilities grow between the two countries. There are fears an all-out war could be triggered, particularly as tensions escalate following an attack at a holiday resort in Kashmir – a territoriry that has been disupted between India and Pakistan for decades. Fresh fighting erupted in the region after gunmen opened fire near the town of Pahalgam, killing 26 people in the worst attack on civilians for 25 years.
The horrific shooting, dubbed a terrorist attack by Indian officials, prompted a wave of military and diplomatic action both from India and Pakistan. Both sides worked to militarise along the ‘Line of Contact’ that separates the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir.
India conducted naval drills, test-fired several long-range missile systems and also suspended a pivotal treaty that ensures they supply Pakistan with water from the Indus River. The World-Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 is cruicial for Pakistan’s water supply and its agricultural economy and ensures water for 80% of Pakistani farms. But India said the suspension would last until “Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.”
In response, Pakistan also suspended all visas issued to Indian nationals under an exemption scheme with immediate effect and closed its airspace to Indian flights. Pakistain Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said in a statement: “Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty, and the usupation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War and responded with full force.”
The move from India to block vital water supplies comes at a time when the region is facing a water shortage and low predicted rainfall, according to Khalid Hussain Baath, chairman of a national farmer’s union in Pakistan. He described the situation saying: “This is a true war.”
Government officials and experts on both sides say India cannot stop water flows immediately, due to the treaty allowing it to only build hydropower plants without significant storage or dams on the three rivers allocated to Pakistan in the treaty split. But within months that could start changing. India’s water resources minister, Chandrakant Raghunath Paatil, said on X: “We will ensure no drop of the Indus River’s water reaches Pakistan.”
In turn, Pakistan deployed its air force to close its airspace to Indian airlines and has mobilised its army – footage has circulated appearing to show artillery batteries and armoured vehicles en route to the Line of Contact (LoC) in anticipation of things escalating into a much larger conflict. Small arms fire has come from both sides in recent days, according to government and military officials.
Now, Pakistan’s railway minister, Hanif Abbasi, has cranked up the tension once more, as he declared that the country’s nuclear arsenal, consisting of more than 130 missiles, were “not kept as models” and were reserved “only for India.” Speaking at the weekend, he issued a chilling warning to India, saying: “These ballistic missiles, all of them are targeted at you.”
If things were to escalate to an all-out war between the nuclear-armed nations, it could prove devastating for the 15 million people who live in the disputed territory of Kashmir – which has been caught between India and Pakistan since the British partition of India in 1947.
Senior police officials said at least four gunmen, described as militants, fired at dozens of tourists from close range in the Kashmir attack which happened last Tuesday . Most of the tourists killed were Indian, but there were also visitors from Israel, Italy, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates.
A Pakistani militant group known as The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibiltiy in the immediate afermath of the attack, however, days later they rescinded their statement and blamed the initial claim on a communications breach. India accused Pakistan of supporting ‘cross-border terrorism’ as authorities said the gunmen were Islamic militants, identifying two of the suspected shooters as Pakistani.
However, authorities in Islamabad have denied any involvement, slamming attempts to tie Pakistan to the attack as “frivolous” and vowing to respond to Indian action. Security forces have detained around 500 people for questioning after raiding almost 1,000 houses and forests near the attack site in a desperate search for the militatns and further evidence, according to a local police official.
Several houses belonging to Muslim families who were living in Indian Kashmir were destroyed in the course of the operation, prompting local political leaders to ensure the innocent are not harmed in the government’s actions to stamp out terrorism. Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir where the attack took place, wrote on X on Saturday: “It’s time to… avoid any misplaced action that alienates people. Punish the guilty, show them no mercy but don’t let innocent people become collateral damage.”
Another former chief minister appealed to the Indian government “to take care that innocent people are not made to feel the brunt as alienation aids in terrorists’ goals of division and fear.” But the Indian government is forging ahead with a host of measures in response to the shooting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a stern warning, saying New Delhi would “identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers”, vowing to hunt those who carried out the attack “to the ends of the Earth”. Last week, India’s Ministry of External Affairs declared it was suspending visa services for Pakistanis in response to the shooting.
“In continuation of the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Security in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government of India has decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect. All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from April 27, 2025. Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till April 29, 2025.
“All Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave India before the expiry of visas, as now amended. Indian nationals are strong advised to avoid travelling to Pakistan. Those Indian nationals currently in Pakistan are also advised to return to India at the earliest.”
