India, March 20 -- Pakistan said it categorically rejects the recent assertion by the United States alleging a potential threat from country's missile capabilities, emphasising that its capabilities are "exclusively defensive in nature, aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and maintaining peace and stability in South Asia."

The statement by the Pakistani foreign ministry came after United States' intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday told lawmakers that Pakistan's long-range ballistic missile development could include missiles capable of targeting the US.

Pakistan said its missile programme, "which remains well below intercontinental range", is firmly rooted in the doctrine of credible minimum deterrence "vis-a-vis India."...