Intelligence sources cited by The Washington Post and Reuters say there is no evidence to support Trump’s assertion. Pakistan’s last confirmed nuclear detonations were in 1998, and no global monitoring agency has reported seismic activity consistent with new tests.
BY PC Bureau
November 3, 2025: U.S. President Donald Trump has thrust Pakistan back into the global nuclear spotlight, asserting in a CBS 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday that Islamabad is actively testing nuclear weapons — a claim that could intensify tensions with arch-rival India.
“Russia’s testing, China’s testing them too… North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing,” Trump said, using the allegation to justify his October 29 order for the Pentagon to resume U.S. nuclear-weapons testing after a 33-year pause.
Pakistan’s last confirmed nuclear detonations were six underground blasts in May 1998, days after India’s Pokhran-II tests. Both countries have observed a voluntary moratorium since then under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which has not entered into force and remains unsigned by several nuclear-armed states.
No evidence, high stakes
No international monitoring body — including the CTBTO’s global seismic network — has detected nuclear explosions in Pakistan since 1998. Intelligence sources cited by The Washington Post and Reuters say Trump’s claim lacks corroboration; one U.S. official described it as “more rhetorical than factual.” Yet in New Delhi the accusation landed like a live wire. Indian defence analysts warn that even unproven allegations could increase domestic pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to further demonstrate the credibility of India’s deterrent — particularly questions that linger over the yield of India’s 1998 thermonuclear test.
The U.S. order to restart testing preparations — announced while the president was en route to a meeting with Xi Jinping and coming weeks after Moscow publicized trials of advanced nuclear-capable systems, including the Poseidon underwater drone — has been widely viewed as a message to rival powers such as China and Russia.
🚨 BIG STATEMENT 🚨
US President Donald Trump says: “Pakistan’s been testing NUCLEAR WEAPONS.” pic.twitter.com/SxVnjpDXfV
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) November 3, 2025
“We can blow up the world 150 times”
“Well, we have more nuclear weapons than any other country. Russia’s second. China’s a very distant third, but they’ll be even in five years. You know, they’re making them rapidly, and I think we should do something about denuclearisation… Denuclearisation’s a very big thing. We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times,” Trump said, arguing that the United States must respond to other nations’ rapid nuclear advances.
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What Team Trump says about the testing plan
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified that the testing Trump referenced will not, at this stage, involve nuclear detonations. “I think the tests we’re talking about right now are system tests. These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call non-critical explosions,” Wright told Fox News. He explained that the planned work will exercise “all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry” and help validate new systems intended to replace aging components.
Wright described the programme as focused on ensuring that replacement weapons perform better than older designs, while stopping short of authorizing explosive nuclear tests.
