Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal: A Reality Check After Asim Munir's Threat

Pakistan's nuclear capabilities are under global scrutiny after its Army chief Asim Munir issued a warning in a recent US speech, drawing sharp criticism from India. Speaking to an audience of Pakistan-origin residents, Munir said, “We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us.”

His remarks linked the threat to New Delhi's suspension of certain clauses of the Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack in May that left 26 people dead.

According to an NDTV report, the remarks were the first nuclear threats known to have ever been delivered from US soil against a third country. They were reportedly made during a dinner hosted for Munir by businessman Adnan Asad, who serves as the honorary consul for Tampa, Florida.

Warhead Stockpile And Strategic Ambitions

According to the 2025 Yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Pakistan holds an estimated 170 nuclear warheads. This number has remained unchanged since last year. The country continues to pursue a nuclear triad strategy, developing land-based ballistic and cruise missiles, sea-launched systems and aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

The SIPRI analysis indicates ongoing work on new delivery systems, suggesting the arsenal may grow over the next decade, reported NDTV.

Missile Capabilities: Regional Reach, Not Global

Pakistan's most advanced ballistic missile, the Shaheen-3, can strike targets up to 2,750 km away, covering all of India and parts of the Middle East. The Ababeel missile, still under development, is believed to be capable of carrying multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), meant to penetrate advanced missile defence systems such as India's Russian-made S-400.

However, even these long-range missiles fall well short of global reach. Most of Pakistan's other systems, including the Fatah-II (400 km), Shaheen-II (1,500–2,000 km), Ghauri-II (over 2,000 km) and short-range missiles like the Abdali, Ghaznavi and Nasr, are tailored for tactical or regional use, reported NDTV.

Air And Sea Components

Pakistan's air-based nuclear delivery currently relies on ageing Mirage III and possibly Mirage V aircraft, stated the report, though the domestically built JF-17 fighter is expected to take over in the coming years, armed with the Ra'ad air-launched cruise missile.

The naval leg of the triad is still evolving. The Babur-3 sea-launched cruise missile (450 km range), designed for deployment on Agosta-90B submarines, could eventually give Pakistan a second-strike capability. But the system is yet to be fully operationalised.

Nuclear Yield And Storage

Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests showed yields of around 12 kilotons. Pakistan is believed to have developed more advanced fission weapons, but there is no proof that it has thermonuclear arms. In peacetime, its warheads are said to be kept apart from the systems that deliver them.