How Asim Munir's 'Nuclear Blackmail', Anti-India Rant Expose Real Threat To South Asia

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The Pakistani Army Chief's comments are reflective of his country's nuclear sabre rattling from time to time while trying to pass itself off as a responsible nuclear actor
Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's latest outburst from the US soil – making a nuclear threat against India and to 'take half the world down" – is not an isolated slip of the tongue.
Munir's comments are the latest in a long and troubling pattern that exposes where the real nuclear instability in South Asia lies: in Rawalpindi's General Headquarters and not in any civilian political leadership. They are reflective of Pakistan's record of nuclear sabre rattling from time to time while trying to pass itself off as a responsible nuclear actor.
In an address to the Pakistani diaspora in Florida's Tampa, Munir reportedly made the nuclear threat in case his country faced an existential threat in a future war with India. He also warned that Islamabad would destroy Indian infrastructure, if they hit water flow to Pakistan.
'We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us," media reports quoted Munir as saying. He is currently on a visit to the US, his second in two months.
Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the 'father of Pakistan's atomic weapons programme", ran an illicit network that transferred nuclear technology to Libya, Iran, and North Korea – a proliferation scandal without any parallel. The same state apparatus is now using it as a diplomatic and psychological weapon.
Munir's latest rhetoric underscores how dangerous it is to have the nuclear button effectively controlled by the military rather than elected civilian leadership.
In a functioning democracy, the commander of the armed forces is subordinate to civilian leadership. In Pakistan, it is the opposite. This concentration of power makes provocative statements like Munir's, like policy signals from the highest levels of the country's real power centre.
THE TERROR NEXUS
The nuclear threat has not been made in isolation. Weeks before the Pahalgam terror attack, Munir said Pakistan will not forget the issue of Kashmir.
'It was our jugular vein," he had said, while his comments were trashed by India. He had also said Hindus and Muslims cannot stay together.
This was followed by the deadly attack in which people were targeted for their religion and killed at point blank range.
AN IRRESPONSIBLE NUCLEAR STATE
These developments reinforce what security analysts have long warned against: Pakistan is an irresponsible custodian of nuclear weapons and there is a real danger of these assets – or the know-how to use them – falling into the hands of non-state actors.
The problem becomes acute when the military feels emboldened by foreign support. Historically, whenever the United States has extended an open hand to Pakistani generals, they have responded by baring their aggressive instincts.
WHERE IS US ACCOUNTABILITY?
This raises a pressing question: will the US hold Pakistan accountable for such provocative and destabilising statements?
President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken about the need to contain nuclear conflict, yet Munir's comments directly contradict that goal.
Munir's threats fit a familiar cycle: military leaders tightening their grip on power, sidelining democratic institutions, and using external aggression to bolster their internal standing.
Emboldened by his reception in Washington, the next step could be even more dangerous – a silent or open coup and possibly the presidency.
The world should take note that this is not just about rhetoric. It is about a nuclear-armed military with a track record of proliferation, terrorism sponsorship, and political dominance – and now, a willingness to openly threaten half the world.
tags :
Asim Munir donald trump nuclear war nuclear weapons Pahalgam attack
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Location :
Islamabad, Pakistan
First Published:
August 11, 2025, 17:00 IST
News world How Asim Munir's 'Nuclear Blackmail', Anti-India Rant Expose Real Threat To South Asia
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