Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has firmly rejected claims made by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that Pakistan is developing long-range missiles capable of striking the United States. Jilani dismissed the intelligence assessment as “not grounded in strategic reality,” clarifying that Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine remains strictly focused on regional deterrence against India.
The diplomatic rebuke follows Gabbard’s March 18 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Presenting the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, Gabbard grouped Pakistan with Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran as nations actively advancing “novel, advanced, or traditional missile delivery systems” that could put the US homeland within range.
During the congressional hearing, Gabbard warned lawmakers that Pakistan’s advancing ballistic missile program could eventually include Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The assertion drew immediate pushback from Islamabad, where officials maintain the country has no ambitions for global military power projection.
Jilani emphasized that Pakistan’s strategic capabilities are entirely “India-specific,” designed solely to maintain balance within South Asia. The categorization of Pakistan alongside hostile actors in the US threat matrix marks a sharp rhetorical shift in Washington’s public intelligence posture toward the nuclear-armed South Asian nation.
Gabbard’s statements to the committee were part of a broader US Intelligence Community projection regarding global security vulnerabilities. According to the assessment, the total number of missiles posing a direct threat to the US homeland is expected to surge from the current estimate of over 3,000 to more than 16,000 by 2035.