India warns of inherent dangers in nuclear brinkmanship pursued by countries

United Nations: India has warned of the inherent dangers in nuclear brinkmanship pursued by countries as a cover for cross-border terrorism, days after Pakistan Prime Minister drummed up hysteria over a possible nuclear war in South Asia after New Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Noting that the global security situation is in a flux, Ambassador Pankaj Sharma, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), said that as a responsible nuclear power, India's nuclear doctrine continues to stress a policy of credible minimum deterrence with a posture of no-first use and non-use against non-nuclear weapon states.

He made the comments on Monday at the General Debate of the First Committee, which deals with disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community.

The global security situation is in a flux. There is concern over the demise of some of the landmark disarmament treaties and agreements and the lowering of the nuclear threshold and the inherent dangers in nuclear brinkmanship, pursued by countries as a cover for cross-border terrorism, he said.

Sharma's comments came days after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan delivered his maiden speech at the UN General Debate and in his almost 50-minute address, devoted half of his time to India and Kashmir, drumming up hysteria over nuclear war.

In a strong reply, India had said Khan's "threat of unleashing nuclear devastation qualifies as brinkmanship, not statesmanship.