India Slams Pakistan’s ‘Nuclear Blackmail’ As Army Chief Threatens to “Take Half the World Down” from US Soil

New Delhi: India on Monday hit back hard at Pakistan after its army chief, General Asim Munir, stunned the world by threatening to “take half the world down” if India posed what he called an “existential threat” to Pakistan. The comments, made during Munir’s visit to the United States, were condemned by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as “nuclear sabre-rattling” — a tactic it said is “Pakistan’s stock-in-trade,” according to an official statement.

“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 MEA said.

This is the first time a Pakistani military leader has delivered such a direct nuclear threat from US soil against a third country — a move that Indian officials told India Today should raise alarm far beyond South Asia.

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

Government sources told India Today that Munir’s comments were “highly irresponsible” and reflected Pakistan’s “dangerous mindset.” They warned of the risk that nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of non-state actors in a country “where democracy does not exist and the military runs the show.” The same sources added, “Whenever the US backs the Pakistani military, they always show their true colours.”