Sharif told reporters here that since carrying out five nuclear tests last week, Indian leaders had been threatening Pakistan every day. He particularly took exception to Indian Home Minister L K Advani's warning on Monday not to meddle in J&K given the altered ``strategic'' situation in the subcontinent.

Nawaz issued a retaliatory warning. Any ``Indian misadventure'' would certainly attract a ``swift and telling reply'' and urged the world community to take serious note of ``irresponsible Indian threats.'' ``We have got to take a very serious note of these threats....We cannot sit back on these threats'' and asked the international community to support Islamabad in taking an ``appropriate decision'' for maintaining the balance of power in the region.

Sharif said if the international communityhad punished India severely, he could have told the nation that India had been punished and there would be no justification for Pakistan to explode its own nuclear device.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebrations of state-owned Radio Pakistan, the Pakistani premier said, ``India is threatening Pakistan everyday...that they will attack (Pakistan-held) Azad Kashmir.'' He said that Pakistan was ``taking this threat very seriously.''

About warnings of international sanctions if Pakistan goes ahead with its nuclear option, Sharif said, ``We are not afraid of sanctions. In fact, we are used to such sanctions.'' Pakistan again tried to press home its point when foreign ministry officials in Islamabad told Japanese emissary Seiichiro Noboru that while India's tests pose a serious security threat for Pakistan, the world community is advising Pakistan to exercise restraint and ``does not seem to be mindful of this threat.''

US President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair telephonedSharif on Monday and urged Pakistan not to conduct a nuclear test in face of the Indian tests. Sharif told Clinton and Blair that after their failure to apply across-the-board sanctions on India, advice from the world's eight major powers to exercise restraint ``demonstrated insensitivity to a critical situation that threatened our very existence,'' said a press release issued by the government.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan foreign secretary arrived in Islamabad today after a short visit to Beijing. Pakistani officials say that Ahmad discussed the recent tests in India with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan.

But the foreign office in Islamabad refused to comment on reports that Pakistan had requested assurances from China, a declared nuclear power, of full support if Islamabad detonated a nuclear device. On the other hand, Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan said that Pakistan had already done the necessary ``spadework'' to respond to India in a ``befitting manner'' following last week's nuclear tests.

``Itis just a matter of time,'' he told English daily The News and claimed Islamabad had the capacity to withstand any resultant sanctions.

``Jo dar gaya woh mar gaya (those who fear are doomed to die),'' he said.He dismissed fears of economic sanctions, and said, ``those expressing apprehensions of economic sanctions, in fact, are suggesting something contrary to the national interest.''

Pakistan survived even when there was no money to pay salaries to government employees and there was no table, chair or even a pen to write in the offices, but ``we are a nation of brave Muslims and we must rise to the occasion'', he told the newspaper.