Attacking Indian cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai should be Pakistan's "default move" if the country comes under attack from the United States, a former Pakistani diplomat has said during a TV show.
Abdul Basit, former high commissioner of Pakistan to India, made the provocative comments during an interview with Pakistani channel ABN News. He was responding to a question on US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's comments about Pakistan's long-range ballistic missile programme.
“America won't attack Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Even if we believe that in a hypothetical situation, America attacks Pakistan, we won't be able to hit back as America does not fall within our nuclear range. (Asking a TV anchor) What do you think will be our option then? India,” Basit asserted during the interview.
“If somebody casts an evil eye on us, we will attack Mumbai and New Delhi in India without even thinking twice,” he continued. His remarks came days after Gabbard flagged Pakistan's long-range ballistic missile programme, noting it could potentially pose a threat to the US.
Presenting the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment to the House intelligence committee, Gabbard had said that Pakistan is among countries “researching and developing an array of novel advanced or traditional missile delivery systems with nuclear and conventional payloads that put our homeland within range”.
Some media reports also quoted Basit saying that Gabbard's “anti-Pakistan” worldview is well known. “Pakistan's deterrence is India-specific… Tulsi Gabbard saw our missiles, but not India's Agni-5 and Agni-6….They don't see India the way they see Pakistan,” he added.
Reacting to the diplomat's comments, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson Tuhin Sinha said that Pakistan is “rattled by strikes during Operation Sindoor” and has “lost its mental balance.”
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After Gabbard's statement, Pakistan was quick to reject the claims made by the US, emphasising that its missile capabilities are “exclusively defensive.”
“Pakistan's strategic capabilities are exclusively defensive in nature and are aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and maintaining peace and stability in South Asia,” Tahir Andrabi, spokesman for Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs, said.
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