FO ‘categorically rejects’ US intel chief’s allegations about threat from Pakistan’s missile programme

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday categorically rejected allegations by the United States director of National Intelligence that Pakistan’s missile programme posed a threat, saying the country’s capabilities were “exclusively defensive”.

“Pakistan categorically rejects the recent assertion by a US official alleging a potential threat from Pakistan’s missile capabilities. It is emphasised that Pakistan’s strategic capabilities are exclusively defensive in nature, aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and maintaining peace and stability in South Asia,” FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said.

The statement came after US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said Pakistan was among a small group of states whose advancing weapons capabilities could directly endanger the US. Gabbard’s remarks placed Pakistan alongside major powers such as China and Russia, as well as North Korea and Iran, in the category of the most significant nuclear and missile-related threats to the US.

Responding to media queries today on the US statement, Andrabi reiterated that Pakistan’s missile programme remained well below intercontinental range and was firmly rooted in a doctrine of credible minimum deterrence vis-à-vis India.

“In contrast, India’s development of missile capabilities exceeding 12,000 kilometres reflects a trajectory that extends beyond regional security considerations and is certainly a cause of concern for the neighbourhood and beyond,” he said.

Andrabi added that Pakistan remained committed to constructive engagement with the US, anchored in “mutual respect, non-discrimination and factual accuracy”.

“We urge a more measured and considered approach that aligns with South Asia’s strategic imperatives and advances peace, security, and stability across the region,” he said.

Former Pakistani diplomat Jalil Abbas Jilani said on X that Tulsi Gabbard’s assertion at a Senate hearing that the US homeland was within range of Pakistan’s nuclear and conventional missiles was “not grounded in strategic reality.”

“Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine is India-specific, aimed at maintaining credible deterrence in South Asia, not projecting power globally,” Jilani said.

This is not the first instance in which the US has levelled unfounded allegations against Pakistan’s missile programme. Previously, the US not only criticised Pakistan but also imposed additional sanctions on its ballistic missile development.

In December 2024, then US deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said that nuclear-armed Pakistan was developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that could eventually allow it to strike targets well beyond South Asia, making it an “emerging threat” to the US.

Finer said Pakistan had pursued “increasingly sophisticated missile technology, from long-range ballistic missile systems to equipment that would enable the testing of significantly larger rocket motors”.

However, Pakistan had rejected the concerns raised by the senior US official.

Read More: Pakistan slams ‘baseless’ US allegations on missile threats

In the same year, the US had announced additional sanctions targeting four entities connected to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme. The sanctions were aimed at curbing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, following concerns over Pakistan’s long-range missile development.

In April 2024, the US had imposed sanctions on three Chinese and one from Belarus, accusing them of supplying equipment for Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme. Islamabad was quick to reject the move, saying that “political use of export controls” would only lead to an arms race and disturb strategic balance.

In September 2023, the US had targeted a Chinese research institute and several companies involved in assisting Pakistan’s missile programme. In October 2023, the US banned three Chinese firms on similar allegations while in December 2021 another Chinese company faced sanctions.