Pakistan calls India 'existential threat': Report
This assessment comes from the United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in its 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment, which raises fresh concerns over rising tensions and military build-ups in South Asia.
The report highlights Pakistan's ongoing efforts to modernise its military capabilities, particularly its nuclear weapons programme, with support from foreign sources, primarily China. Islamabad, it says, is committed to developing battlefield nuclear weapons to offset India's conventional military superiority.
'Pakistan regards India as an existential threat and will continue to pursue its military modernisation effort, including the development of battlefield nuclear weapons,' the DIA stated.
Pakistan is also deepening its military relationship with China. The report notes that Pakistan conducts multiple joint exercises with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) each year, including a new air force drill completed in November 2024.
China is also believed to be the main supplier of materials and technologies supporting Pakistan's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes, with some items transiting through Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey and the UAE.
According to the DIA, Pakistan's military priorities for the year ahead include managing cross-border tensions, countering threats from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch nationalist militants, counterterrorism operations, and nuclear modernisation.
The report also confirms that Pakistan has not adopted a 'No First Use' nuclear doctrine and continues to focus on tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons as a countermeasure to India's larger conventional forces.
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