Recalling the 4-day confrontation with India, Sharif said 55 Pakistanis were killed in Operation Sindoor strikes

Agencies Islamabad

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday rejected the idea of a nuclear exchange during the recent conflict with India, saying his country's nuclear programme was for "peaceful activities and self-defence". Sharif made the comments while addressing a group of Pakistani students in Islamabad.

Recalling the four-day military confrontation, Sharif said 55 Pakistanis were killed during the Indian military strikes. However, he emphasised that “Pakistan responded with full might.”

When asked about the possibility of using nuclear weapons, Sharif replied, “Pakistan’s nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes and national defence, not for aggression." India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.

Sharif's remarks come less than two months after a senior Pakistani diplomat explicitly warned of using "the full spectrum of power, both conventional and nuclear" in the context of rising tensions with New Delhi. The Pakistani Prime Minister's attempt to tone down nuclear escalation marks a shift following heightened tensions due to Operation Sindoor.