International news agency Reuters had quoted Khan Monday as saying that his country will not use nuclear weapons first.

New Delhi: Hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan was quoted as saying that Pakistan wouldn’t be the first to use nuclear weapons, Islamabad Monday clarified there has been no change in the country’s nuclear policy.

Within hours of Khan’s alleged statement, spokesperson of Pakistani foreign ministry Dr Mohammad Faisal said the PM’s comment was “being taken out of context” and there was no change in the country’s nuclear policy.

Prime Minister’s comments on Pakistan’s approach towards conflict between two nuclear armed states are being taken out of context. While conflict should not take place between two nuclear states, there’s no change in Pakistan’s nuclear policy. — Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) September 2, 2019

International news agency Reuters had quoted Khan Monday evening as saying: “We both are nuclear-armed countries. If these tensions increase, the world could be in danger…There will be no first from our side ever.”

The statement came amid tension between India and Pakistan over scrapping of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.

‘No change in nuclear policy’

Khan’s remark was met with a lot of scepticism within the Indian defence establishment.

The Nuclear doctrine of Pakistan promotes deterrence by guaranteeing an immediate “massive retaliation” to an aggressive attack against the state.

India’s ‘No First Use’ policy, on the other hand, was adopted soon after a nuclear test in May 1998 – a decision taken by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The policy, a cornerstone of India’s nuclear doctrine, has been adopted by China too, among all nuclear powers in the world.

During his election campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had remarked how India called on nuclear-armed Pakistan’s bluff with February airstrikes on terror camps.

Also read: PM Imran Khan wants citizens to stand for 30 mins every Friday for Kashmir. Ok, and do what?

Repeated threats

Khan’s statement came as a surprise for many after his repeated threats of nuclear war against India in the past couple of months.

In an address to Pakistan on the Kashmir situation – days after defanging Article 370 – Khan had said that his country will go to any extent on the issue.

“If the [Kashmir] conflict moves towards war then remember both nations have nuclear weapons and no one is a winner in a nuclear war. It will have global ramifications. The superpowers of the world have a huge responsibility…whether they support us or not, Pakistan will do everything possible,” he had said.

(4/4) Prime Minister Of Pakistan Imran Khan's Address To The Nation On The Issue Of Kashmir (26.08.19)#KashmirAtDecisionPoint@ImranKhanPTI pic.twitter.com/ffoHjzWwTe — PTI (@PTIofficial) August 26, 2019

He had earlier also threatened nuclear war amid flare up of tensions between both nations following the 26 February Balakot airstrike by the Indian Air Force.

In an article by Khan for The New York Times, on 30 August, he used the word ‘nuclear’ eight times to impress upon readers that the world is standing on the brink of a nuclear war due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

Also read: Tale of two Hitlers in Pakistan: Imran Khan is a fan of good one, keeps the bad one for Modi

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