Nuclear not on cards right now: Khawaja Asif denies reports of 'special meeting'

Lahore: Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that no meeting of the National Command Authority, which is Pakistan's top military and civil body overseeing the country's nuclear arsenal, was scheduled following a military operation against India that took place early on Saturday.

Pakistan's military had said earlier in the day that Pakistan's prime minister had called on the authority to meet.

The option to go nuclear is not on the cards right now, said Asif, as Indian and Pakistani militaries targeted each other's installations, escalating the already serious confrontations.

“At the moment, the nuclear option is not on the cards. However, if the situation comes up the 'watchers' will be affected as well,” Asif told Geo News.

“I am telling the world that this is not going to be confined to the region only, it could be much wider ... this destruction. Our options are being reduced considering the situation India is creating,” he said.

Asif said that no meeting of the National Command Authority has been called.

The NCA is responsible for making the operational decisions on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

Tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan increased after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.

Pakistan launched a fresh wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- for the second night on Friday, with the Indian defence ministry saying the enemy's attempts to hit vital installations, including airports and air bases, were successfully thwarted.

Pakistan on early Saturday claimed that its three air bases were targeted by Indian missiles and drones.