Pak regards India as existential threat, will pursue development of battlefield n-weapons to counter India: US report

United News of India

25-05-2025

Washington/New Delhi, May 25 (UNI) Pakistan regards India as an existential threat and will continue to pursue its military modernisation effort, including the development of battlefield nuclear weapons, to offset India's conventional military advantage, says a US report.
The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in its 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment, also says that India views China as its primary adversary and Pakistan more an ancillary security problem to be managed, despite the cross-border attacks in mid-May by both India's and Pakistan's militaries.
The DIA report, with up-to-date information as of May 11, 2025, says this on Pakistan: 'During the next year, the Pakistani military's top priorities are likely to remain cross-border skirmishes with regional neighbours, rising attacks by Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and Baloch nationalist militants, counterterrorism efforts, and nuclear modernization.'
It says that 'Pakistan almost certainly procures WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) applicable goods from foreign suppliers and intermediaries.'
It says that 'Pakistan primarily is a recipient of China's economic and military largesse, and Pakistani forces conduct multiple combined military exercises every year with China's PLA, including a new air exercise completed in November 2024.'
'Foreign materials and technology supporting Pakistan's WMD programs are very likely acquired primarily from suppliers in China, and sometimes are transshipped through Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.'
It said the terrorist attacks targeting Chinese engineers working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project has emerged 'as a point of friction between the countries'.
On India, it said that 'Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's defence priorities will probably focus on demonstrating global leadership, countering China, and enhancing New Delhi's military power.'
On the Pahalgam terror attack, it said that 'Following a late April terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi conducted missile strikes on terrorism-related infrastructure facilities in Pakistan. The missile strike provoked multiple rounds of missile, drone, and loitering munition attacks, and heavy artillery fire, by both militaries from 7 to 10 May.
'As of 10 May, both militaries had agreed to a full ceasefire.'
'To counter Chinese influence and boost its global leadership role, India is giving priority to advancing its bilateral defence partnerships in the Indian Ocean region through exercises, training, arms sales, and information sharing. India also has increased trilateral engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and actively participates in multilateral fora such as the Quadrilateral, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ASEAN.'
On the India-China agreement reached in October last year on disengagement on the LAC, it said the 'disengagement did not resolve the longstanding dispute about border demarcation but reduced some tension still lingering from a 2020 incident when troops on both sides were killed in a clash along the Line of Actual Control'.
It also said that 'India will maintain its relationship with Russia through 2025 because it views its ties to Russia as important for achieving its economic and defence objectives and sees value in the relationship as a means to offset deepening Russia-China relations.'
It said that 'Under Modi, India has reduced its procurement of Russian-origin military equipment but still relies on Russian spare parts to maintain and sustain its large inventory of Russian-origin tanks and fighter aircraft that form the backbone of its military's ability to counter perceived threats from China and Pakistan'.
UNI RN