‘Nuclear weapons not routine instruments of statecraft’: India’s warning to Pakistan at UN

NEW DELHI: India on Friday warned Pakistan against using nuclear weapons as a tool of political pressure, asserting that New Delhi would not bow to nuclear blackmail and that any terrorist attack against the country would invite a fitting response.Exercising its Right of Reply at the United Nations General Assembly's First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security, India said nuclear weapons must not be treated as “routine instruments of statecraft”.Senior Adviser (Disarmament) at India's Permanent Mission to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Anmol Sher Singh Bedi, delivered the response following remarks by Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir.“Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India,” Bedi said, rejecting Pakistan's claims over the region.He said India's military capabilities were defensive in nature and shaped by its security environment, rather than directed against any particular country.“We heard concerns about escalation. These are legitimate concerns.