‘Indirect threat from the US…’: Ex-R&AW head on Asim Munir’s inflammatory nuke speech

Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir’s inflammatory speech from American soil is an indirect threat from the US, said former Research and Analysis Wing head, Vikram Sood. He also said that Munir’s analogy of a Mercedes-Benz and a gravel truck to describe India and Pakistan respectively was on point.

“At one level the Munir ramble on US soil is an indirect threat from the US. That is how it should be seen. The example of a Mercedes and a dump truck is accurate except the dump truck does not even carry any gravel,” said Vikram Sood in a post on X. He shared the post of author and podcaster Kushal Mehra.

MUNIR’S INFLAMMATORY SPEECH

Munir during his speech at a black tie dinner hosted by Pakistan’s honorary consul, Adnan Asad in Tampa, said, “We are a nuclear nation; if we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us.” Munir was visiting the US, where he was invited to attend the retirement function for General Michael Kurilla, the outgoing commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).

Munir also said in a veiled threat, “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,” he said. The verse Surah Fil describes how Allah sent birds to drop stones on an enemy’s battle elephants. “We’ll start from India’s East, where they have located their most valuable resources, and then move westwards,” he said, as per the report.

With regards to India and Pakistan, Munir used the analogy of a Mercedes and a gravel truck. “I am going to use a crude analogy to explain the situation. India is shining Mercedes coming on a highway, but we are a dump truck full of gravel. If the truck hits the car, who is going to be the loser?”

But many, like Retired Major General PK Sehgal, rebuffed Munir and said nukes are weapons of deterrence and would never be used.