Amid tensions with India, reports have surfaced saying that there has been a “sharp increase” in Pakistan’s activities in procuring nuclear technology.
According to Hindustan Times, German government believes that there has been a rise in recent years where Pakistan's activities to illegally procure technology used in nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons have increased. German government conveyed this information in an official reply earlier this month to a question from several lawmakers of die Linke (Left Party), including Sevim Dagdelen, the deputy leader of the party’s parliamentary group.
The government’s reply dovetails with concerns expressed by Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), the German domestic intelligence service, which said in a 2018 report on proliferation-related matters that there had been a “massive increase” in Pakistan’s attempts to clandestinely procure nuclear goods in Germany and other Western countries. Pakistan which currently has 130 to 140 nuclear weapons has plans to increase them to 250 atomic warheads by 2025, the report added.
Earlier, amid tensions with India, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said his county will not use nuclear weapons first. “There will be no first from our side ever,” Reuters quoted Khan as saying.
Imran Khan warned of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan amid the escalation of tensions between the two countries following India's move to abrogate Article 70 of the Constitution that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He had also blamed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for the current situation.
