White House lunch, Kurilla's farewell: Kanwal Sibal says US ties have emboldened Munir

Former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal on Monday hit out at Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir for his recent nuclear threats against India, warning that such rhetoric, made during his visit to the United States, reflects a "dangerously fanatic Islamist mindset."

Munir, in a speech to the Pakistani diaspora in the US, had stated that Pakistan would "take half the world down" if it faced an existential threat from India, adding that, as a nuclear nation, "we will take half the world down with us" if pushed too far.

Sibal, responding to the remarks, noted that Munir's statement reveals much about Pakistan's current military leadership. "If all this is correctly quoted, it confirms the dangerously fanatic Islamist mindset of the Pak army chief," Sibal said. He pointed to Munir's close interactions with senior US officials, including a recent meeting with US CENTCOM Chief General Kurilla, and his attendance at Kurilla's retirement ceremony in Florida. These engagements, according to Sibal, have emboldened Munir, allowing him to make such unrestrained threats on US soil.

Sibal further suggested that the United States bears some responsibility for Munir's provocative language, pointing out that Munir would have known his words would reach the American public. "He obviously counted on this so as to keep alive the spectre of a nuclear conflict in the subcontinent," Sibal remarked. "Munir feels encouraged by the way he is being lionised by the US," he added, linking the Pakistani Army Chief's rhetoric to the broader context of US-Pakistan military relations.

Former Indian Ambassador Rajiv Dogra also slammed Munir's remarks, calling them "one of the most irresponsible statements ever made on foreign soil." He added that Munir "needs to be counselled by doctors and controlled by saner Americans."

In response to Munir's nuclear remarks, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the threats as highly irresponsible, stating that Pakistan's actions not only jeopardise regional stability but also pose a global security risk. "Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade," the MEA said in a statement. 

"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 added. "It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country."

The MEA further said that 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."