After being pummeled into submission by India in the recently-paused Operation Sindoor, Pakistan is now engaged in modernizing its nuclear weapons arsenal at a frantic pace with the help of China, its “all-weather ally”, a recent US intelligence report has revealed.
Further, US intelligence agencies have highlighted that India now sits at the center of Pakistan Army’s strategy, which considers New Delhi as a long-term threat, and its new weapons– conventional and nuclear– are being designed with Indian military strength in mind.
Pakistan developing tactical nukes
The report states that alongside conventional weapons, Pakistan is also developing tactical nuclear weapons or what it calls “battlefield nuclear weapons” that are designed to be used within a limited area, and prove devastating in any India-Pakistan border clash.
Additionally, the Pakistan Army, under its radical chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is modernizing its nuclear weapons stockpile and strengthening the nuclear command, for which it is indirectly procuring technology and materials via countries like China, Turkey, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE.
This illicit network of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) supplies is being operated in utmost secrecy and in defiance of international rules, which raises serious questions on regional security, the report states.
Pakistani military, economy now completely dependent on China
The US intel report has also warned about Pakistan’s military power and economy now being completely dependent on China, which is a major concern for South Asia as Beijing is likely to use any future India-Pakistan conflict as a testing ground for its weapons, such as fighter jets, air defense systems, and missiles.
Citing the example of a major air exercise in November 2024, in which China’s PLA and the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) reviewed their operational preparedness, the report noted that Pakistan and China are tied together in a tight military embrace as is evident from their joint military exercises.
Apart from India, the report pointed out that the top priorities of the Pakistani army are likely to remain cross-border clashes with regional neighbors during the next year, including Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), who killed more than 2500 people in Pakistan in insurgent attacks in 2024.
Pakistan attempting to mend ties with Iran, Afghanistan
Beyond the above developments, the intelligence report also noted that Pakistan was making attempts to mend strained ties with its neighbors, India and Afghanistan, with Islamabad holding a slew of meeting with Tehran last year to improve relations.
Iran and Pakistan had carried out tit-for-tat airstrikes on each others border in 2024 resulting in soured ties between the two nations. Similarly, Islamabad’s relations with Kabul have deteriorated as Pakistan accuses the ruling Afghan Taliban regime of supporting and aiding Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgents.
In March 2025, the Pakistani Air Force carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan leading to border clashes between the two countries.
