New Delhi: Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s “stock-in-trade”, said New Delhi Monday, after the neighbouring country’s army chief threatened to “take down half the world” and expressed willingness to use its nuclear weapons against India last week in the US.
“Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade. The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks, which also 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,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
Jaiswal added that India will “not give into nuclear blackmail” and will take “all steps necessary” to safeguard its national security.
The spokesperson further added that it is “regrettable” that these threats were made by Pakistan army chief Asim Munir in the US—a “friendly third country.”
New Delhi has accused Pakistan’s military of being “hand-in-glove” with terrorist groups, with an aim to strike at India, raising the spectre of the proliferation of nuclear weapons to non-state actors. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the late Pakistani nuclear scientist, had in 2004 admitted to proliferating nuclear weapons materials to countries such as North Korea, Libya and Iran.
India’s response comes after ThePrint exclusively reported Munir’s speech to a black-tie event last week in the city of Tampa. The Pakistani army chief threatened to use its nuclear weapons in the event that Islamabad is on the back foot. Munir was in Florida to attend a function honour General Michael Kurilla, the outgoing commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).
This is Munir’s second visit to the US in the last few months. Earlier in June, he was hosted by American President Donald Trump for lunch at the White House. Pakistan also announced a trade deal with the US last month, while ties between New Delhi and Washington D.C. continue to face challenges.
The Pakistani army chief threatened to destroy any dam built by India on the Indus river, following New Delhi’s move to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in “abeyance.” The holding of the IWT in abeyance was one of India’s diplomatic actions after terrorists emanating from across the border gunned down 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The attack on 22 April occurred roughly a week after Munir defended the “two-nation theory” and declared that Hindus and Muslims are very different people.
The latest broadside by Munir has raised fears of further terrorist attacks emanating from Pakistan in the near future, as reported by ThePrint earlier. Munir further leaned into the “two-nation” theory in his Florida speech, highlighting that Pakistan is one of two states in the world founded on the basis of Kalimah, the Islamic profession of faith.
In response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist complexes across Pakistan. The Indian military struck Jaish-e-Mohammad’s Bahawalpur complex as well as Lashkar-e-Taiba’s facility in Muridke.
Islamabad struck back, leading to an 87-hour conflict between the two nuclear armed states in May. Eventually on 10 May, both militaries came to an understanding to cease firing.
However, on the morning of 10 May, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA), the agency overseeing Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal, according to reports.
New Delhi has made it clear that it will no longer be willing to not act on terrorist camps in Pakistan due to Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Munir’s threat to ‘take half the world down’ highlights Pakistan’s ‘true colour’, say govt sources
India should be calling out the US for entertaining such deranged officials, the Pakistani “state” should be an afterthought.
Let him rant and threaten. This is nothing new. An nuclear attack on India will be the end of Pakistan and even the the US or China won’t be able to save them.