- The United States points to Pakistan’s missile program in its threat assessment.
- Global missile threats projected to increase by 2035: US
- The former envoy rejects the claim and says the doctrine remains India-centric.
WASHINGTON: US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard identified Pakistan among countries that pose growing strategic concern, warning that Islamabad’s evolving long-range missile capabilities could potentially put the American homeland within its reach.
In presenting the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Gabbard also named Iran, China, Russia and North Korea as nations actively developing new missile delivery systems, including nuclear and conventional warheads, that put the United States within range.
“The United States’ secure nuclear deterrent continues to ensure security at home against strategic threats. However, Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan have been researching and developing a number of novel, advanced or traditional missile delivery systems with nuclear and conventional payloads that put our country within range,” Gabbard said.
He noted that Pakistan’s ballistic missile development “could potentially include intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)” capable of reaching US territory.
Gabbard also warned that the number of missile threats facing the United States was expected to increase sharply, with the intelligence community projecting that global missile inventories could exceed 16,000 by 2035, up from more than 3,000 today.
He added that the countries identified in the report would likely seek to understand US missile defense plans to shape their own development programs and assess Washington’s deterrence posture.
Reacting to the comments, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, Jalil Abbas Jilani, rejected the claim that Pakistan posed a direct missile threat to the US territory.
In a statement, Jilani said Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine was India-centric and aimed at deterrence, not global power projection, adding that Islamabad’s strategic posture focused on regional security dynamics.
Meanwhile, Turkish analyst Shaqeq-ud-Din disputed the assessment, arguing that Pakistan did not possess ICBMs, while raising concerns about India’s growing ICBM capabilities, which he said were expanding with external support.
He called the threat classification selective and questioned whether similar scrutiny was being applied uniformly to all countries.
South Asia Threat Assessment
The threat assessment report noted that South Asia remained a source of “enduring security challenges,” particularly Pakistan-India relations, for the United States.
“Relations between Pakistan and India remain a risk of nuclear conflict, given past conflicts in which these two nuclear states clashed, creating the danger of escalation,” he stated. He also mentioned the Pahalgam attack that triggered a war between the two neighbors.
“President Trump’s intervention reduced the most recent nuclear tensions, and we assess that neither country seeks to return to open conflict, but that conditions exist for terrorist actors to continue creating catalysts for crises,” he said.
The report also highlighted tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, stating: “Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have been tense, with intermittent cross-border clashes, while Islamabad has become increasingly frustrated with the presence of anti-Pakistan terrorist groups in Afghanistan, while Islamabad faces increasing terrorist violence.”
“Pakistan’s army chief warned this month that lasting peace requires the Taliban to sever ties with militants targeting Pakistan. The Taliban’s public stance has been to call for dialogue, but they have denied harboring anti-Pakistan militants,” he said, referring to the ongoing war between the two states.
