Pakistan, May 31 -- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has publicly distanced himself from a previous intelligence assessment that named Pakistan's long range ballistic missile programme as a potential threat to the American homeland, saying Washington is "not pointing a finger" at either India or Pakistan and is instead grateful for their recent roles in peace efforts.

During a panel discussion at Singapore's Shangri La Dialogue over the weekend, Hegseth was asked about remarks made to the US Senate Intelligence Committee on March 18, 2025, by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who listed Pakistan's missile development alongside those of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran as systems that "put our homeland within range". Sh...