Pakistan's army chief used a visit to the United States to issue a stark nuclear warning to India, prompting a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi that accused Islamabad of "nuclear blackmail" and "sabre-rattling."
Field Marshal Asim Munir, speaking Sunday to members of the Pakistani-American community in Tampa, Florida, said, "We are a nuclear nation; if we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us," according to multiple Pakistani and Indian media reports. He also vowed to destroy "with 10 missiles" any dam India constructs on the Indus River, a reference to water disputes that have long fueled tensions between the two countries.
The remarks, made on the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, drew immediate condemnation from India's Ministry of External Affairs. "Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan's stock-in-trade," the ministry said in a statement Monday. "It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country."
The ministry added that "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."
Pakistani outlet ARY News quoted Munir as accusing India of "creating instability in the region" and warning that "any Indian aggression will be met with a befitting reply." His comments also included praise for Pakistan's military response to Operation Sindoor, launched by India after the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people. Pakistan denies supporting the militants accused in that attack.
Indian government sources, speaking to local media, said Munir's statement was "part of a pattern" of threats from Islamabad and claimed it reflected "the real danger of nuclear weapons falling in the hands of non-state actors in Pakistan." They alleged that democracy "does not exist in Pakistan" and that the military "controls the country."
Munir's trip marked his second U.S. visit in two months, signaling a warming in Washington-Islamabad ties even as the Biden administration deepens its strategic alignment with India against China. In Tampa, he attended the U.S. Central Command change-of-command ceremony, met with U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, and extended an invitation for Caine to visit Pakistan.
