Kashmiri political activist and Director of the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), Junaid Qureshi, has labelled the nuclear threat remark by Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir as ‘irresponsible’.
Qureshi remarked that if the statements, reportedly suggesting that Pakistan could “wipe out half of the world,” were true, they indicate a dangerous level of recklessness from the nation’s military leadership.
“I consider it a very irresponsible remark,” Qureshi said.
He said: “By threatening half of the world, he is doing a great disservice to Pakistan.
“The general will not determine when to deploy nuclear weapons; that is a decision for the civilian administration,” he said.
Munir’s controversial remark
Munir triggered a controversy during his US visit when he said that his country would defend its water rights “at all costs” if India proceeds with dam construction on the Indus River.
Munir said that Islamabad would not hesitate to plunge the region into nuclear conflict if the country faces an existential threat in a future war with New Delhi.
“We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us,” Munir said as quoted by NDTV.
Responding to Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s nuke threat from the United States, India on Monday said “nuclear sabre-rattling” is Islamabad’s “stock-in-trade”.
Condemning Munir’s remarks, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it “won’t give in to nuclear blackmail”.
The MEA’s statement reads, “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.
