NEW DELHI: The International Atomic Energy Agency should take charge of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, days after the nuclear-armed neighbors ended their worst military conflict in nearly three decades.

Deadly fighting broke out between the old enemies last week after India struck what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan in retaliation for an attack in Indian Kashmir last month that killed 26 men, which it said was backed by Pakistan.

Islamabad had denied the allegations and both countries sent missiles and drones into each other’s airspace in the days that followed, before they reached a truce on Saturday.

“Are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of such an irresponsible and rogue nation?” Singh said while addressing soldiers in Indian Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar. “I believe that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons should be taken under the supervision of IAEA.”

There was no immediate response from Pakistan to Singh’s comment.

The IAEA is a Vienna-based UN watchdog which monitors nuclear programs to ensure they are peaceful.

India and Pakistan became nuclear powers after they conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998 and their decades-old animosity has made the region — the world’s most populous — one of its most dangerous nuclear flashpoints.

The latest military conflict between the South Asian neighbors spiraled alarmingly on Saturday and there were briefly fears that nuclear arsenals might come into play as Pakistan’s military said a top body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.

But the Pakistani defense minister said no such meeting was scheduled.

Military analysts said this may have been Pakistan’s way of hinting at its nuclear option as Islamabad has a “first-use” policy if its existence is under threat in a conflict.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India would strike at “terrorist hideouts” across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail.”

Pakistan rejected Modi’s statements as being “provocative and inflammatory assertions,” saying it represents a dangerous escalation.

Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan have fought three wars in the past, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

India also blames Pakistan for supporting militants battling security forces in its part of Kashmir, but Islamabad denies the accusation.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched the second phase of Pakistan Hajj flight operations for pilgrims traveling under the government-sponsored scheme, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.

Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme during Pakistan’s 33-day-long Hajj flight operations, which started on April 29. Pilgrims will travel to Makkah and Madinah via 342 flights in total, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31.

On Wednesday, as the second phase of operations started, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf received 305 pilgrims at Jeddah airport. They had arrived directly from Islamabad under the Makkah Route Initiative.

“Almost 46,000 pilgrims will arrive in Makkah via Jeddah by the 31st of this month,” Radio Pakistan reported. “They will then proceed to Madinah after performing Hajj.”

The Makkah Route Initiative is designed to streamline immigration processes by enabling pilgrims to complete official travel formalities at their departure airports. Initially tested in Islamabad in 2019, the program was later expanded to Karachi, benefitting tens of thousands of Pakistani travelers. This saves pilgrims several hours upon arrival in the Kingdom, as they can simply enter the country without having to go through immigration again. 

Around 50,500 Pakistani pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia under the initiative this year. The scheme was launched in 2019 by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and has been implemented in five countries: Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.

This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to perform Hajj under the government scheme and over 23,620 Pakistanis through private tour operators.