If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world
down with us: Asim Munir
Asim Munir’s comments show Pakistan is an ‘irresponsible’ state with nuclear weapons: MEA
NEW DELHI, Aug 11: Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s nuclear threat from the US soil showed that the neighbouring country is an “irresponsible” nuclear state and there is a danger of the weapons falling into the hands of non-state actors, government sources said on Monday.
In an address to the Pakistani diaspora in Florida’s Tampa, Munir reportedly made the nuclear threat in case his country faced an existential threat in a future war with India.
The Pakistani Army chief also warned that Islamabad would destroy Indian infrastructure if they hit water flow to Pakistan.
“We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us,” media reports quoted him as saying.
“We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it,” he added.
Munir’s fresh nuclear threat against it reinforced the well-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in that country where the military is “hand-in-glove” with terrorist groups and that New Delhi will not give in to any nuclear blackmail, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a firm response on Monday.
Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s “stock-in-trade”, the MEA said. It is also regrettable that these remarks were made from the soil of a “friendly third country”, it said in an apparent message to Washington.
Munir is currently on a visit to the US, his second in two months.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has already made it clear that “it will not give in to nuclear blackmail”. “We will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard our national security,” he said.
In his address, Munir also repeated his earlier remarks that Kashmir is the “jugular vein” of Pakistan.
Weeks before the Pahalgam attack, the Army Chief said Pakistan will not forget the issue of Kashmir, asserting, “It was our jugular vein.” His comments were trashed by India.
“Before the Pahalgam attack, Munir had given a statement that Hindus and Muslims cannot stay together. This was followed by the Pahalgam terror attack in which people were asked for their religion and killed at point blank range,” said a government source.
“This statement is a signal that more terrorist attacks would be undertaken and cover would be the Pakistan missile and nuclear capabilities,” the source added. (PTI)