WASHINGTON: Director of US National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday warned that Pakistan’s advancing missile programme could eventually put the United States within range, flagging it as part of a growing set of global threats to the American homeland.
Presenting the intelligence community’s 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, Gabbard said China and Russia are developing advanced delivery systems capable of bypassing US missile defences, while North Korea already has intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach American soil and continues to expand its nuclear arsenal. She added that Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile development could evolve into intercontinental systems capable of striking the US, placing it in a category of emerging strategic concern for American security planners. “The IC assesses that China and Russia are developing advanced delivery systems meant to be capable of penetrating or bypassing US missile defences. North Korea’s ICBMs can already reach US soil, and it is committed to expanding its nuclear arsenal,” she said.
“Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile development potentially could include ICBMs with the range capable of striking the Homeland,” Gabbard told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (IANS)
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