Dismissing his Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Asif’s statement on use of nuclear weapons, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said that India was capable of securing its borders.
“Answer to every question is not necessary. I am defence minister for India, not Pakistan. India is capable of securing its borders,” Parikar said when asked to comment on Asif’s remarks that use of nuclear weapons was “an option” as they were “not kept merely for show but as deterrents”.
Defence Minister Asif had said in a television interview that if Pakistan needed to use nuclear weapons for “our survival, we will”.
To a question on cross-border terrorism, the Indian defence minister, who was inaugurating an orientation programme for newly-elected cantonment board members, said, “It has come down.”
The defence minister refused to comment on the possibility of Myanmar-like strikes in the future. “Such things are secret and cannot be shared,” Parrikar said.
