US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has included Pakistan among countries posing a significant threat to the United States (US), warning lawmakers that Islamabad’s missile development could potentially bring the American homeland within range.

Presenting the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment before the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, she said, “Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan have been researching and developing an array of novel, advanced, or traditional missile delivery systems with nuclear and conventional payloads, that put our Homeland within range.”

She added, “Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile development potentially could include ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) with the range capable of striking the Homeland.”


Gabbard further said that the countries identified in the report “will likely seek to understand US plans for advanced missile defence… for the purpose of shaping their own missile development programmes and assessing US intentions regarding deterrence.”


She warned of a sharp increase in missile threats over the next decade, stating, “…threats to the Homeland will expand collectively to more than 16,000 missiles by 2035, from the current assessed figure of more than 3,000 missiles.”


The assessment triggered reactions from analysts in Washington DC. Scholar Shuja Nawaz said the inclusion of Pakistan reflected continuity in US policy trends. He said, “This continues the analysis of the Biden administration that placed sanctions on Pakistani entities and tried to curb acquisition of new technologies.”


He added that most estimates place Pakistan’s Shaheen-III missile range at under 2,800 kilometres and said Islamabad maintains its nuclear programme is intended for deterrence against India. 

“There is no reason for Pakistan to target the United States or any other country outside South Asia. Such assessments undermine the budding US-Pakistan relationship,” he said.

US-based analyst Michael Kugelman said, “It’s a significant comment, given that the current administration has been fairly quiet on the Pakistan nuclear weapons issue and has generally projected positivity in its messaging on Pakistan.”

He added, “But at the same time, I wouldn’t overstate the significance here. Pakistan wasn’t singled out exclusively; it was called out with other countries.”

The assessment also highlighted South Asia as a continuing security concern, particularly tensions between Pakistan and India.

The report stated, “India–Pakistan relations remain a risk for nuclear conflict given past conflicts where these two nuclear states squ¬ared off, creating the danger of escalation,” while also referring to the Pahalgam attack.


It added, “President Trump’s intervention deescalated the most recent nuclear tensions, and we assess that neither country seeks to return to open conflict, but that conditions exist for terrorist actors to continue to create catalysts for crises.”

On Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions, it said, “Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have been tense, with intermittent cross-border clashes, as Islamabad has become increasingly frustrated with anti-Pakistan terrorist groups’ presence in Afghanistan while Islamabad faces growing terrorist violence.”


It further noted, “Pakistan’s army chief warned this month that lasting peace requires the Taliban to sever ties with militants targeting Pakistan. The Taliban’s public posture has been to call for dialogue, but it has denied harbouring anti-Pakistani militants.”

The report also said regional powers are increasingly using force to advance their interests, stating that countries including Egypt, Israel, Pakistan, Turkiye and the UAE are using a mix of lethal aid, proxy forces, or their own military assets to provoke or undermine their rivals or to tilt nearby conflicts in their favour.