President Donald Trump, while defending his administration’s proposal to resume U.S. nuclear tests after more than 30 years, had cited Pakistan as one of the nations currently engaged in nuclear testing.

“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. We’re an open society — we talk about it because you people [the media] are going to report,” Trump told CBS News, contrasting the US with more closed systems.

“We’re going to test because they test and others test. Certainly, North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing,” he went on to justify the decision further.

Responding to a question during the weekly media briefing, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Randhir Jaiswal, said, “Pakistan’s clandestine and illegal nuclear activities are consistent with its long record of smuggling, export control breaches, and secret collaborations.”

Jaiswal emphasised that India has repeatedly alerted the international community to Pakistan’s proliferation record and ongoing non-compliance with global safeguards.

“In this context, we have taken note of President Trump’s comments on Pakistan’s nuclear testing,” the spokesperson added.