logo c2c.png 2

If US Hits Pakistan, We’ll Bomb Mumbai & Delhi Without Thinking Twice”: Ex-Pak

Envoy’s Explosive Warning, everywhere are buzzing about it. Abdul Basit—you remember him, right? He was Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India from 2014 to 2017—went on a TV show and straight-up said that if the United States ever attacked Pakistan (he called it super unlikely, almost impossible), then Pakistan’s response shouldn’t wait around. Instead, they should hit India hard. Specifically, he named Mumbai and New Delhi as targets. “We must not think twice and attack Mumbai and New Delhi. We will see what happens later,” he reportedly said. He even called it Pakistan’s “default” option because their missiles might not reach the US or Middle East spots directly, so India becomes the go-to in a pinch. He compared it to how Iran has gone after nearby countries when they couldn’t strike farther.

This whole thing blew up in response to what US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said just a few days ago in her 2026 Annual Threat Assessment to the Senate. She straight-up flagged Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program as something to keep an eye on. Gabbard said Pakistan (along with Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran) is pushing missile tech—nuclear and conventional—that could one day reach the US homeland. She specifically mentioned their work “potentially could include ICBMs with the range capable of striking the homeland.” That’s a huge shift from the usual “it’s all about India” line Pakistan pushes. Basit has pushed back on that before, saying their nukes and missiles are India-focused for deterrence, but here he flipped it to suggest India would pay the price in some wild retaliation scenario.

Now, this is one retired diplomat mouthing off on TV, not some official statement from Islamabad. Pakistan’s government hasn’t endorsed this at all; in fact, they’ve called Gabbard’s missile claims “baseless” and stressed their program is purely defensive for regional balance. But man, naming big, bustling cities like Mumbai and Delhi in the middle of nuclear talk? That hits different. It drags up all the bad memories—past attacks, border flare-ups, the constant tension between these two neighbors who both have nukes. Online, it’s chaos: outrage in India, some memes, a ton of “this is reckless” comments, and people asking if this is just bluster or something more.

We’re talking millions of lives in those cities, everyday people just going about their day. Casual talk of “bombing” them—even in a hypothetical—crosses a line. Deterrence is one thing; floating city strikes like it’s no big deal is another. Cooler heads have to stay in charge here. With everything going on globally—the Iran stuff, US tensions—this kind of rhetoric doesn’t help anyone.

Sources:

Authors

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,