Washington: Sending a strong message to Pakistan, the United States has strongly objected to threats of nuclear warfare made by Pakistan against India.


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A senior State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity said, “We made that (American objection on nuclear threat) clear to them (Pakistan). Repeatedly."


This comes after Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif threatened to unleash nukes against India.


"We will destroy India if it dares to impose war on us. Pakistan army is fully prepared to answer any misadventure of India," Asif told private TV channel SAMAA.


The US on Thursday asked Pakistan to act against UN-designated terrorist groups and called for de-escalation of tension between India and Pakistan.


According to a report published in IANS, if India and Pakistan fought a war detonating 100 nuclear warheads (around half of their combined arsenal), each equivalent to a 15-kiloton Hiroshima bomb, more than 21 million people will be directly killed, about half the world's protective ozone layer would be destroyed, and a "nuclear winter" would cripple monsoons and agriculture worldwide.


Russia has said it expected Islamabad to take "effective" steps to stop the activities of terrorist groups in its territory as it voiced concern over "aggravation" of the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan.


The statement comes after India on said its troops had carried out "surgical strikes" on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has denied the cross-border strikes, and said it was a LoC skirmish.


The surgical strikes were carried out early Thursday on seven launch pads by the Indian Army which said it inflicted "significant casualties" on the terrorists and those who supported them.


The strikes came 11 days after the Uri terror attack on September 18, which killed 19 Indian soldiers. India has blamed Pakistan militants for the Uri attack.