Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir issued a stark nuclear threat against India, warning that his country would be willing to plunge the region into nuclear war if faced with an existential threat, ThePrint reported. Speaking at a dinner in Florida, hosted by businessman and Pakistan’s honorary consul Adnan Asad, Munir said, “We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us.”
According to ThePrint’s report, Munir was in the US to attend the retirement ceremony of General Michael Kurilla, outgoing commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). His nuclear threat remarks are reportedly the first such issued against a third country from US soil.
The report of Munir’s nuke threat comes at a time when India and US relations are not in its best form. Indian politicians have pointed fingers at US President Trump’s decision to invite Asim Munir over for lunch at White House shortly after India’s military escalation with Pakistan. Notably, the Trump-Munir lunch also raised eyebrows as such an invitation was extended to the Pakistani PM or President but an army chief.
Munir threatens to blow Indian dam on Indus river
Munir further warned that India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty could endanger 250 million people in Pakistan. “We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, phir 10 missile sey faarigh kar dengey [we will destroy it with 10 missiles],” ThePrint reported him as saying at the dinner. The report further quoted Munir as saying, “The Indus river is not the Indians’ family property. Humein missilon ki kami nahin hai [we have no shortage of missiles].”
Taking aim at New Delhi, Munir mocked India’s reluctance to disclose its losses in Operation Sindoor. “The Indians should accept their losses,” he said, adding that Pakistan was open to making its own war losses public if India did the same.
Trump-Munir lunch and Pak’s Nobel Prize nomination
Commenting on India’s strained ties with Washington, Munir joked that Pakistan should teach a “masterclass” on balancing rival global powers. “The real reason for our success is that we are not misers. If someone does good work, we praise them. That is why we nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Prize,” he reportedly said.