New Delhi, Aug 12: India has strongly condemned recent remarks attributed to Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling them “nuclear blackmail” and reaffirming that New Delhi will take “all necessary steps” to safeguard its national security.
According to media reports, Munir, during an address to the Pakistani diaspora in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, allegedly warned that Pakistan would “take half the world down” if it faced destruction, citing its nuclear capability. No official transcript or video of the speech has been released.
Responding to the reported comments, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade. Such remarks reinforce global doubts over the integrity of nuclear command and control in a state where the military works in tandem with terrorist groups.” The MEA called it “regrettable” that such statements were made from the soil of a “friendly third country” and reiterated that India would not bow to nuclear threats.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office rejected India’s statement, accusing New Delhi of “twisting” Munir’s remarks and constructing a “misleading narrative” of nuclear blackmail. Islamabad insisted it remains opposed to the use or threat of force, warning that any violation of its sovereignty would invite an “immediate and matching response.”
Munir’s Florida visit also included comments on water disputes, warning that Pakistan would destroy Indian infrastructure if water flow to Pakistan was disrupted by dam construction on the Indus river. He also reiterated Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir, calling it the country’s “jugular vein” – a claim India has repeatedly rejected, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.
This is not Munir’s first anti-India rhetoric. Weeks before the July Pahalgam terror attack, he had issued similar statements on Kashmir. Indian officials have long accused Islamabad of using nuclear threats as political cover for cross-border terrorism and maintaining regional instability.