*KARACHI: *Amid mounting pressure on India over its illegal move inOccupied Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s defence minister has madea veiled threat of a nuclear war in the region.
Though Rajnath Singh didn’t name any country, it is understood the threatwas directed at Pakistan. It shows Modi’s growing frustration at hisill-conceived move to strip Occupied Kashmir of its autonomy on August 5.
“Pokhran is the area which witnessed Atal Ji’s firm resolve to make India anuclear power and yet remain firmly committed to the doctrine of ‘No FirstUse’. India has strictly adhered to this doctrine. What happens in futuredepends on the circumstances,” Singh wrote on his verified Twitter handle.
The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear tests conducted by Indiaat the Indian army’s Pokhran Test Range in May 1998 when Atal BihariVajpayee was the prime minister.
India’s belligerent posturing following the nuclear detonations forcedPakistan to conduct five simultaneous underground nuclear tests just twoweeks later on May 28, 1998. The tests were conducted at Ras Koh Hills inthe Chagai district of Balochistan.
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“India attaining the status of a responsible nuclear nation became a matterof national pride for every citizen of this country. The nation will remainindebted to the greatness of Atal Ji,” the Indian defence minister wrote inanother tweet after visiting Pokhran on the first death anniversary ofVajpayee.
Singh’s oblique threat came at a time when the UN Security Council istaking up the precarious situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir which hasbeen turned into what award-winning Indian author Arundhati Roy says a‘giant prison camp’ in an attempt to contain the simmering rage in thedisputed territory.
