New Delhi has accused Asim Munir of “saber-rattling” for comments he allegedly made at a private event in Florida
India has condemned a set of nuclear threats that were reportedly made by Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir on Sunday, calling them “irresponsible.”
In a statement released on Monday, India’s foreign ministry said that the country would not give into such threats. Its remarks were in response to a report that cited Munir as saying that Pakistan would be willing to unleash a nuclear war in the event of an existential conflict with its eastern neighbor.
”Our attention has been drawn to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of the Army Staff while on a visit to the United States,” Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement on Monday. “Nuclear saber-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade.”
A report by ThePrint on Monday quoted Munir as saying, “We are a nuclear nation, if we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us.” The report cited the accounts of guests at a private dinner that was addressed by the field marshal in Tampa, Florida. It added that cameras, phones and other digital devices were not allowed at the event.
“I am going to use a crude analogy to explain the situation,” Munir was quoted by ThePrint as saying. “India is shining Mercedes coming on a highway like Ferrari [sic], but we are a dump truck full of gravel. If the truck hits the car, who is going to be the loser?”
Munir’s comments “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,” Jaiswal added. “It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country.”
Munir is visiting the US to attend a farewell dinner for the retirement of US CENTCOM Chief General Michael Kurilla. He is visiting the country for the second time this year.
In June, Donald Trump invited him to a private lunch meeting, after which Munir called for the US President to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, citing his mediation efforts in ending the military confrontation between India and Pakistan.
New Delhi has repeatedly denied Trump’s role in bringing about the ceasefire.
