New Delhi, Nov. 7: The Ministry of External Affairs of India on Friday said illegal nuclear activities are related to Pakistan’s history when asked about US President Donald Trump’s claim that Islamabad is testing nuclear weapons.

In a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “Clandestine and illegal nuclear activities are in keeping with Pakistan’s history that is centred around decades of smuggling, export control violations, secret partnerships, AQ Khan network, and further proliferation. India has always drawn the attention of the international community to these aspects of Pakistan’s record. In this backdrop, we have taken note of President Trump’s comment about Pakistan’s nuclear testing.”

Jaiswal added, “Pakistan’s secret and illegal nuclear activities are related to its old history, which has lasted for decades.”

Earlier, in an interview with CBS News' Norah O'Donnel, the US president had said, “Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re an open society. We’re different. We talk about it…. We’re gonna test, because they test and others test.”

“And certainly, North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing,” he said. “They don’t go and tell you about it. You don’t necessarily know where they’re testing. They test way under — underground, where people don’t know exactly what’s happening with the test,” he said.-Agencies