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This has caused a strong pushback by Pakistan following the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, citing Pakistan as one of the greatest nuclear threats to the United States, along with Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. Gabbard, in her 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, pointed out that Pakistan was working on advanced long-range ballistic missiles that could become ICBMs able to hit the US homeland, not just South Asia.

The Foreign Office of Pakistan categorically denied the claims and said that its missile development was purely defensive and was not beyond the intercontinental range. There were no signs of outright panic off record, but the declaration caused a discourse on the way the US views things in Islamabad.

India-Pakistan relations were another threat that was cited by Gabbard as a possible cause of a nuclear war, as there had been historical tension and past standoffs in the region, and there were risks that the situation would escalate. In response, India denounced Pakistan on its proliferation record, which enhanced the world's fears on the security of its arsenal in the face of terror connections and instabilities. The comments enhance a reproach on the nuclear situation in South Asia.