Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir once again threatened India, saying that Islamabad would plunge the region into nuclear war and would take “almost half of the world” down if the country faces an existential
threat in a future war with New Delhi.
“We are a nuclear nation; if we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us,” Munir reportedly said at a black-tie event hosted for him in Florida’s Tampa during his second visit to the US in two months, as reported by The Print.
As per the report, this is the first time that nuclear threats have been issued from the soil of the US against a third country.
Munir, who came out of the shadows amid soaring tensions between India and Pakistan, further raked up the Indus Waters Treaty issue, which has been kept in “abeyance” by New Delhi after the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack, saying India’s decision could put 250 million people at risk of starvation.
He further threatened to destroy the Indian dams (to be built) with missiles on the river, saying that Islamabad has plenty of missiles.
“We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, phir 10 missile sey faarigh kar dengey (we will destroy it with 10 missiles). The Indus river is not the Indians’ family property. Humein missilon ki kami nahin hai, (we have no shortage of missiles),” Munir reportedly said.
The Pakistan Army Chief is on his second visit to the US in less than two months to meet top American military officials.
Munir held talks with US Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Dan Caine and invited him to visit Pakistan, according to a statement from Pakistan’s military wing. They discussed matters of “mutual professional interest,” it said.
Earlier, he was hosted to a private lunch at the White House by US President Donald Trump.
On several occasions, Munir has blamed India without any evidence for the recent tensions in the region in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. After the Pahalgam attack, the diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan downgraded with New Delhi announcing several punitive measures, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, cutting Islamabad Mission strength and expulsion of its military attaches.
India and Pakistan exchanged cross-border hostilities for four days after the former launched Operation Sindoor against terror camps in the neighbouring country. New Delhi struck several air bases and dealt a crushing blow to Islamabad Army’s capabilities, while also effectively repelling missile and drone attacks.
Despite this, Munir had claimed India undertaken acts of unprovoked aggression, marked by a “troubling absence of strategic foresight”, and vowed a decisive response to any future Indian aggression.
