New Delhi, August 14: India has sharply rebuked Pakistan over fresh nuclear war threats issued by its Army Chief General Asim Munir, warning that any reckless misadventure would have “painful consequences,” as demonstrated in the past.
“We have seen several statements and reports regarding the continuing pattern of reckless warmongering and hateful comments from Pakistani leadership against India,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during his weekly briefing on Thursday.
Referring to Operation Sindoor, India’s recent retaliation following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, Jaiswal cautioned, “Pakistan would be well advised to temper its rhetoric as any misadventure will have painful consequences, as was demonstrated recently.”
The remarks come after General Munir, during his second visit to the United States, threatened India with nuclear war, claiming Islamabad could plunge the region into catastrophe and “take almost half of the world” down if faced with an existential crisis.
The Pakistani Army Chief also vowed to defend Pakistan’s water rights under the Indus Waters Treaty, declaring in Tampa, Florida, that his country would destroy any Indian dam constructed on the river.
India has dismissed these statements as a familiar tactic. “It is a well-known modus operandi of Pakistani leadership to whip up anti-India rhetoric to hide their own failures,” Jaiswal said.
The MEA had earlier described Pakistan’s nuclear sabre-rattling as its “stock-in-trade” and raised concerns about the credibility of its nuclear command and control system in a country “where the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups.”
The latest war of words underscores the deepening hostility between India and Pakistan, especially on issues of cross-border terrorism, Kashmir, and water disputes, with India signaling it will not take threats lightly.