SAEDNEWS: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has accused Israel of flouting international nuclear norms and proclaimed the Jewish state “a threat to peace for the entire world,” lamenting Western silence.
According to Saed News, Pakistan’s MoD chief Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Russia’s Novosti agency that, unlike Islamabad—which “has adhered meticulously to all IAEA rules since being recognised as a nuclear power”—Israel remains outside every relevant treaty, regulation and oversight mechanism. “They are breaching international standards governing nuclear-armed states,” he asserted, adding that this unchecked posture renders Israel “a threat to global peace” that Western capitals conveniently ignore.
Mr. Asif’s intervention comes at a moment of heightened scrutiny over the Middle East’s nuclear balance. Pakistan, itself barred from certain IAEA forums until 2004, has since sought to cast its arsenal as a stabilising deterrent. By contrast, Israel’s policy of deliberate ambiguity—neither confirming nor denying its nuclear stockpile—has long vexed non-proliferation advocates.
Western governments, led by the United States, maintain a discreet strategic partnership with Israel, supplying it with advanced conventional weaponry while taking pains to avoid public censure of its nuclear opacity. Critics argue this double standard undermines the very fabric of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Israel is not a signatory.
Pakistan’s rebuke also highlights an accelerating diplomatic realignment. Islamabad has courted deeper ties with Beijing and Moscow, positioning itself as a counterweight to Western influence in South Asia. By spotlighting Israel’s exceptionalism, Mr. Asif seeks to rally support for a more equitable nuclear order—one that does not hinge on selective enforcement.
Whether this critique will galvanise change remains to be seen. The West’s reluctance to confront its closest Middle Eastern ally suggests that Israel’s nuclear posture will persist as an open secret. Yet Pakistan’s blunt admonition serves as a potent reminder: in the contest between principle and pragmatism, the scales of global security may be tipping.
