Pakistan has categorically rejected recent comments from former US President Donald Trump that the country has resumed nuclear testing and repeated its longstanding policy of restraint. In an interview with CBS News, a senior Pakistani security official said that “Pakistan was not the first to carry out nuclear tests and will not be the first to resume nuclear tests.”
The reaction came after Mr. Trump claimed, in an interview with 60 Minutes, that Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan were secretly conducting tests of nuclear weapons. “They test and we don’t test — we have to test,” Trump said, justifying his directive for the U.S. military to restart nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades.
Pakistan and China reject Trump’s allegations
China was the first to deny the accusations, as Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning pointed out that Beijing “has always upheld a self-defensive nuclear strategy” and maintained a moratorium on testing. She urged Washington to behave with responsibility and help preserve global stability and arms control frameworks.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan similarly stated that the country remains committed to a “unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing” even as it is not a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). This stance is reflected on the ministry’s official website, which states that Pakistan “will not be the first to resume testing of nuclear weapons in South Asia.”
Pakistan’s final nuclear detonation occurred in 1998, and officials insist that since then, the country has supported the goals of the CTBT in spirit and practice.
Trump’s remarks and global reactions:
In the interview, Mr. Trump accused rivals of violating nuclear agreements. “Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it… and Pakistan’s been testing,” he said. Challenged on the possible confusion between missile system tests and actual nuclear detonations, Trump replied that such tests often occur “way underground, where people don’t know exactly what’s happening.”
The former president’s comments come at a time of heightened global concern after he ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing, in a move that ended a 30-year US moratorium that began in 1992. Experts and lawmakers have warned this threatens to ignite a new arms race, strain international treaties, and erode decades of nuclear non-proliferation progress.
The U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a Trump appointee, tried to walk back the statement afterwards, suggesting that any future U.S. tests may involve weapons systems rather than live nuclear detonations.
Historical Context and Global Nuclear Landscape
The United States conducted a confirmed nuclear explosion last in September 1992, under the project codenamed Divider, at the Nevada Test Site. Since then, Washington has been adhering to a self-imposed ban, though it has continued non-explosive testing of delivery systems.
North Korea is the only country known to have conducted a nuclear explosion this century, with its most recent test in 2017. Both China and Russia‘s last nuclear detonations were in 1996, and neither has officially resumed testing.
The U.S. and Russia together hold around 87% of the world’s nuclear arsenal, according to estimates by the Federation of American Scientists. It is believed that Russia has about 5,580 warheads, the U.S. about 5,225, and China about 600. Pakistan’s is estimated to contain 170 warheads, and India’s an estimated 180.
**Potential Fallout of U.S. Policy Shift
Arms control experts have criticized the call by Mr. Trump for renewed nuclear testing as dangerous and unnecessary. **Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association (ACA), said on X that the decision “lacks technical, military or political justification” and could spark widespread global opposition.
“If the U.S. resumes explosive testing, it could trigger a chain reaction — pushing other nuclear states to follow suit and undermining the entire nuclear non-proliferation regime,” Kimball warned. With the *New START Treaty* between Washington and Moscow due to expire in February 2026, analysts fear that heightened rhetoric and new testing may herald a new era of nuclear brinkmanship that would undermine decades of painstaking efforts toward arms control and global security.
Has Pakistan ever tested a nuclear bomb?
Since then, 10 nuclear tests have taken place: two by India and two by Pakistan in 1998 and six by North Korea in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 (twice) and 2017, according to the UN. India, Pakistan and North Korea have not signed the CTBT.
Who has 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons?
Number of nuclear warheads worldwide 2025
There were approximately 12,200 nuclear warheads worldwide as of January 2025, and almost 90 percent of them belong to two countries: Russia and the United States.
Who is the Pakistani American supporting Trump?
Sajid Tarar is a Pakistani American activist from Baltimore, who founded the Republican group American Muslims for Trump. He is the CEO of non-profit private organization Center for Social Change.
Can the US shoot down a nuclear missile?
The United States deploys two systems that can shoot down incoming missiles in the midcourse phase of flight: The Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system and. The Aegis defense system.
Does Pakistan have better missiles than India?
The BrahMos, capable of carrying nuclear or conventional payloads of up to 300kg, has a range of about 500km. Its low altitude, terrain-hugging trajectory and blistering speed make it difficult to intercept, allowing it to penetrate Pakistani territory with relative ease.
