Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has questioned whether nuclear weapons are safe in Pakistani hands.

Pakistan's nuclear arsenal should be "brought under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)" to ensure monitoring and security, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.

Singh cited the nuclear watchdog - that oversees the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear technologies - during an address to troops in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people were killed in a terror attack in April.

"The world has seen how irresponsibly Pakistan has made nuclear threats to India many times," Singh said. "Today, from the land of Srinagar, I want to raise the question before the whole world: Are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of such an irresponsible and rogue nation?"

Islamabad was quick to condemn Singh's remarks as "irresponsible" and claimed they revealed Singh's "profound insecurity and frustration" over Pakistan's conventional deterrence against India.

"The comments of India's Defense Minister also show his sheer ignorance of the mandate and responsibilities of a specialised agency of the United Nations like the IAEA," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "If anything, the IAEA and international community should be worried about the repeated theft and illicit trafficking incidents involving nuclear and radioactive material in India."

During India's military standoff with Pakistan last week, the India Air Force (IAF) struck a Pakistani air base in Sargodha, which is believed to be linked to an underground nuclear storage facility. Social media was rife with rumors that an IAF strike had caused a radioactive leak at Kirana Hills.

However, India quicklydenied the rumors. When questioned about the strike at a press briefing, India's Director General of Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti said, "We have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there."

The IAEA has also confirmed there were no radiation leaks from any nuclear facilities in Pakistan.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have gone to war four times since they attained independence from Britain in 1947. Their most recent military standoff led to fears that nuclear weapons could be used, with top Pakistani politicians claiming Islamabad reserved the right to use the option in a protracted conflict with New Delhi.

India has maintained a no-first use policy when it comes to nuclear weapons.

(RT.com)