‘Not the first…’: Pakistan responds to Trump’s explosive claim on nuclear tests

A senior Pakistani security official told CBS News that Islamabad maintains a “unilateral moratorium” on testing and remains committed to restraint, even though it is not a signatory to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

“Pakistan was not the first to carry out nuclear tests and will not be the first to resume nuclear tests,” the official said in response to Trump’s comments during an interview on 60 Minutes.

During the broadcast, Trump alleged that several nations – including Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan – continue to conduct secret nuclear tests while the US has refrained for more than three decades.

“We’re going to test because they test,” Trump told CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell. “And certainly North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing. They test way underground, where people don’t know what’s happening.”

The remarks, the first time a sitting US president has directly accused Pakistan of ongoing nuclear testing, come amid Trump’s push to resume American nuclear testing “to keep pace” with other powers.

Pushback from China and Pakistan

Beijing was the first to respond to Trump’s statement, rejecting the accusation and reaffirming its “self-defensive nuclear strategy.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China “has always abided by its commitment to suspend nuclear testing” and urged Washington to uphold the global non-proliferation regime.

Pakistan, which last conducted a nuclear detonation in 1998, reiterated that it continues to observe its testing moratorium.

“Despite being a non-signatory state, Pakistan has been supporting the objectives and purposes of the CTBT,” the country’s foreign ministry says on its website, adding that it “will not be the first to resume testing of nuclear weapons in South Asia.”

North Korea remains the only country known to have carried out a nuclear detonation since the 1990s, while both Russia and China have denied any secret explosive testing. Trump’s own nominee to head US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) recently told lawmakers that neither Russia nor China had conducted such tests.