Nuclear war with India could break out ‘at any time

Nuclear war with India could break out ‘at any time’, Pakistan’s defence minister has said, as fears of tit-for-tat bloodshed continue to grow. 

Speaking to Pakistani TV channel Geo News, the country’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said last night: ‘If they [India] impose an all-out war on the region and if such dangers arise in which there is a stand-off, then at any time a nuclear war can break out.’

He added: ‘If they aggravate this then if a chance of war arises in which there is a sign of nuclear option being used on both sides, then the responsibility for that will be on India.’ 

His stark warning came amid reports that 31 people, including four children, had been killed by Indian aircraft-launched missile strikes on nine suspected ‘terrorist facilities’. A further 57 were injured, Pakistan officials said.

Meanwhile, India told more than a dozen foreign envoys in New Delhi that ‘if Pakistan responds, India will respond,’ sparking fears of a larger military conflict in one of the world’s most dangerous – and most populated – nuclear flash-point regions.

It comes after Pakistan vowed to strike back against India, warning it reserves the right to respond to overnight missile strikes at a ‘time, place and manner of its choosing’.

Islamabad also deemed India’s assault an ‘act of war’ that it claims deliberately targeted civilian areas – an allegation roundly denied by New Delhi.

The overnight attack on Wednesday was in response to a massacre of civilians at a beauty spot in the Indian section of the disputed Kashmir region last month. 

India had blamed Pakistan for sponsoring the militants behind the slaughter – but said Wednesday’s missiles were targeted at terrorist infrastructure, rather than state sites.

As most world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, called for peace, former Conservative premier Rishi Sunak, born in Britain to parents of Indian descent, and himself a Hindu, posted on X: ‘India is justified in striking terrorist infrastructure. There can be no impunity for terrorists.’

While India has a declared policy of only using nuclear in response to an attack, Pakistan is understood to be willing to use its warheads tactically on the battlefield to deter a conventional assault.

Several wars have already been fought over Muslim-majority Kashmir since the departure of Britain in 1947 – when the state’s Hindu Maharaja chose to be part of India. Kashmir remains divided along a hotly disputed border line.  

As Pakistan moved tanks near Kashmir on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the armed forces had been authorised to undertake ‘corresponding actions’.

Residents living around the de facto border fled yesterday after India launched attacks on what it said was nine ‘terror camps’ inside Pakistan overnight.