India Slams Pak Army Chief Asim Munir's ‘Nuclear Sabre Rattling’ From US

Issuing a warning from Tampa, United States, Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir threatened to take down "half the world"  if his nation faced an existential threat in any future state of war with India.

"We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us," he said,citing media reports.

The statement of the Pakistan's de facto military chief were the maiden nuclear threats made from American soil against a developing nation.

These comments caught attention during a dinner hosted for Munir by businessman Adnan Asad, who serves as the honorary consul for Tampa.

India Calls Asim Munir's Remarks As "Nuclear Sabre-Rattling”

India on Monday reacted sharply to reported remarks made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff during a visit to the United States, calling them an example of Pakistan’s “nuclear sabre-rattling.” 

The south Asian nation's full statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff while on a visit to the United States.”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." 

“It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country. 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,” it said. 

Pak Attacks Indus Waters Treaty

The 11th Chief of Pak's Army Staff also threatened to destroy any infrastructure that India builds on the Indus water channels, that would disrupt the water flow to his home nation, while signalling there was no shortage of missiles in Pakistan. 

Further, he noted that how India's move to place Indus Waters Treaty, a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan inked in 1960, into a state of suspension after Pahlagam terror attack in April risked starvation for 250 million indiviuals.

In an earlier address to the nation post the horrors of Pahalgam attack, PM Modi has said, “Terror and talks cannot go together; water and blood cannot flow together.”

Meanwhile, Munir said, "We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, phir das missile sey faarigh kar dengey [we will destroy it with 10 missiles]...The Indus River is not the Indians' family property. Humein missilon ki kami nahin hai, al-hamdulillah [we have no shortage of missiles, Praise be to God]," citing media reports.

On his last visit to the U.S, Munir was invited for a White House luncheon with the US President Donald Trump on June 18.

During the visit, he had recommended the US President's name for a Nobel Prize for his supposed peace-making efforts.

Approximately, 120 Florida-based members of Pakistani origin attended the event, where participants were not allowed to carry cellphones or other digital devices. A representative of the Israel Defence Forces was also reportedly present at the function.

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Indo-Pak Military Dispute

During the event, Munir also reportedly dedicated a substantial part of his speech to Pakistan's recent military conflict with India and questioned New Delhi's decision not to provide specific details of its losses during the four-day war.

"The Indians should accept their losses...Sportsman spirit is a virtue," he said, while mentioning Pakistan will also make its losses public, as long as India also conducts a similar exercise.

From his pre-prepared notes, he read, "Ek tweet karwaya tha with Surah Fil and a picture of (the industrialist) Mukesh Ambani to show them what we will do the next time." Surah Al-Fil, also known as "The Elephant," is the 105th chapter of the Quran, which describes how Allah sent birds to drop stones on an enemy's battle elephants and reduced them to "chewed-up straw".

"We'll start from India's East, where they have located their most valuable resources, and then move westwards," Munir was quoted as saying by ThePrint.

Munir, a conservative, is reportedly the first Pakistan army chief to have a seminary education.

Is Munir Eyeing Pak Presidency?

Amid speculations of the Pak Army Head aspiring to be the next president, Munir in a highly suggestive statement mentioned, “They say war is too serious to be left to the Generals, but politics is also too serious to be left to the politicians.”