India on Monday condemned Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir’s recent nuclear threat made from the US, dismissing it as yet another example of Islamabad’s “nuclear sabre-rattling.”
During his speech in Florida,
Munir issued threats of “nuclear war” and promised to “take down half the world” if Pakistan faced an existential crisis in a future conflict with India.
“We are a nuclear nation. If we believe we are going down, we will take half the world down with us,” Munir said during a private dinner.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted that such comments were made “from the soil of a friendly third country,” calling the choice of venue “regrettable”.
“Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade,” the MEA said in a statement.
It further noted that the international community could draw their own conclusions about the “irresponsibility inherent in such remarks, which also reinforce the well-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in a state where the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups”.
The MEA further maintained its stance, reaffirming that India will never bow down to the nuclear blackmail tactic of Islamabad and “will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard the national security.”
Israel Condemns Munir’s Nuke Threat
Reacting to Munir’s nuke threat, Israeli ambassador to India Reuven Azar condemned the statement and said that it is not a “conducive remark”.
“It is not a very conducive statement made by Munir. We stand very firmly with our friends.”
Meanwhile, government sources slammed the remarks as “highly irresponsible,” saying they underscore Pakistan’s willingness to jeopardise both regional and global security.
They added that whenever the Pakistani military enjoys US backing, it invariably “shows its true colours.”
“The Pakistani Army Chief has once again given a highly irresponsible statement involving nuclear weapons. This is for the world to see how Pakistan is not only risking regional security but also global security. There are reasons for people to have concerns about Pakistan having nuclear weapons,” government sources said.
“It is a sign that democracy does not exist in Pakistan; instead, the military controls the country. There is a real danger of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of non-state actors in Pakistan,” the sources added.
