Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa's term extended by three years

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's 2026 Annual Threat Assessment placed Pakistan alongside Russia, China, North Korea and Iran as countries developing missile systems that could potentially threaten the America, stating that Pakistan's long-range ballistic missile development "potentially could include ICBMs with the range capable of striking the homeland." Pakistan's response was to reject the characterisation of its own programme and redirect Washington's gaze toward India, claiming New Delhi is building a long-range missile exceeding 12,000 kilometres in range, a trajectory its Foreign Office said "raises broader security concerns beyond the region." The claim centres on three specific systems: the Agni-V, already operational with a range exceeding 8,000 kilometres; the Agni-VI, a three-stage intercontinental system with an estimated range of up to 12,000 kilometres confirmed in development since May 2018; and the K-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile, with a range of 5,000 to 8,000 kilometres being developed for India's Arihant-class nuclear submarines. Pakistan argues that K-5 deployment on extended ocean patrols would enable India to target Europe, Russia, Israel and American Pacific territories, a capability it characterises as inconsistent with India's stated credible minimum deterrence posture. The strategic logic behind Pakistan's deflection is transparent. Its longest-range operational missile, the Shaheen-III, reaches only 2,750 kilometres, sufficient to cover India but far below the 5,500 kilometre ICBM threshold. In December 2024, the US State Department sanctioned Pakistan's National Development Complex and three private companies for procuring equipment for long-range missile development. Pakistan has not forgotten the scrutiny. Its claim about India's Agni-VI is factually grounded, the programme has been in the public domain for years. What Pakistan is doing is using that factual foundation as a deflection from American scrutiny of its own programme, and as a geopolitical argument that Washington applies its South Asian threat assessments selectively. India has not publicly responded.