Pak, India trade accusations of nuke arms mismanagement

Pakistan and India accused each other on Thursday of failing to control their nuclear weapons, calling on the world to monitor their neighbour's arsenal just days after their most serious military confrontation in two decades.

- Tariq Butt | Agencies

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Pakistan's nuclear arsenal should be under the surveillance of the UN's atomic energy agency, while Islamabad said the international community should investigate a “black market” in India. Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the remarks.

They show India's “insecurity and frustration” about Pakistan's “effective defence and deterrence against Indian aggression through conventional means,” the ministry said in a post on X.

"I wanted to raise this question for the world: are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of a rogue and irresponsible nation?" Singh told troops at a base in Jammu and Kashmir. “I believe that Pakistan's atomic weapons should be brought under the surveillance of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Singh added.

Hours later, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the IAEA should instead probe “the repeated theft and illicit trafficking incidents involving nuclear and radioactive material in India.”

“These incidents also suggest the existence of a black market for sensitive, dual-use materials inside India,” its statement added.