Beyond Munir's nuclear bluster
Nuclear sabre rattling apart, his latest speech shows Pak terror threat for India is still a live one
Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir reportedly used his second visit to the US in two months to make a nuclear threat against India and the world. He said his military can destroy any dams built on cross-border rivers following India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. The Pakistani military's media arm has not provided much information about Munir's interaction with the diaspora in Florida, where he reportedly made these remarks, but they are in line with his stated position towards India. Munir said that if Pakistan faces an existential threat in any future war, it will take down not just India but 'half the world' with its nuclear weapons. He also pointedly mentioned during his speech how Pakistan is like a 'dump truck full of gravel' that can obstruct a speeding car, a metaphor for India's economic growth and the stakes involved. In that sense, Munir is right — Pakistan has long stalled the realisation of South Asia's true economic and strategic potential, with its policies of backing cross-border terrorism against Afghanistan and India, meddling in other spheres, and engaging in the reckless proliferation of nuclear weapons and missiles.
There are obvious domestic considerations behind Munir's jingoistic rhetoric, including the consolidation of his position following his elevation to field marshal after four days of hostilities with India in May. The days of coups by the Pakistan army appear to be over as the military has learnt how to direct foreign and security policy while remaining behind the facade of weak and under-performing civilian governments. Munir also needs to buttress the standing of the Pakistan Army in the face of continuing pressure from former premier Imran Khan's band of devoted followers in Pakistan and abroad.
Few in India have forgotten that the Pahalgam terror attack came less than a week after Munir's speech in which he referred to Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan's 'jugular vein', remarks that he repeated at the Florida event. This should be taken as an indication that the threat to India from Pakistan's jihadi and terrorist infrastructure — always backed by its military — remains a live one. The Indian government has already made it clear through Operation Sindoor that it will not give in to Pakistan's nuclear sabre-rattling and blackmail, but the country must remain on guard for further misadventures by Munir and others of his ilk. The US needs to urgently rethink its embrace of the warmongering field marshal.
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