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What Shashi Tharoor said on Pakistan army chief Asim Munir’s threats
Munir reportedly said in Florida that Pakistan could use its nuclear weapons to take down India and “half the world” in the event of an existential threat.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday said that Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s fresh nuclear threats against India during an event in the United States were discussed during the Standing Committee on External Affairs.
Munir reportedly said at a meeting with the Pakistani diaspora in Florida that Pakistan could use its nuclear weapons to take down India and “half the world” in the event of an existential threat in any future conflict with India.
Tharoor said that the committee expressed concern over the misuse of a friendly country's soil for such remarks.
“The question of General Munir's statement on American soil has been brought up. Our concern was expressed about the misuse of a friendly country's soil to say something about us in this manner,” Tharoor told reporters.
Also Read | What did Pak army chief Asim Munir say in US, triggering strong response from India?
“But at the same time, the fact that the nuclear sabre-rattling, something that Pakistan likes to do, has been dismissed by the MEA in a statement...So we would echo that statement. The committee share the same view... Nuclear blackmail will not work with India and no party disagrees with that," the Congress leader added.
The panel was briefed by the representatives of the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of commerce & industry on the current developments in India's Foreign Policy.
Later, after attending the dinner hosted by Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge for the INDIA bloc leaders, Tharoor again slammed Munir saying that he has the habit of making such remarks before the Pakistan diaspora to boost his position.
"We are not going to surrender to nuclear blackmail. This gentleman has a habit of saying things to the Pakistan diaspora that are apparently intended to boost his position. India knows how to handle these things in the air and on the ground. I am not too worried," Tharoor told reporters, according to ANI.
What Asim Munir said
Addressing members of the Pakistani diaspora in Tampa, Florida, Munir reportedly warned of using nuclear weapons if Pakistan faced an existential threat in a future war with India.
“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 also threatened action against any Indian dam built on the Indus River referring to New Delhi’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of Pahalgam terror attack.
“We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, 10 missiles se faarigh kar denge (we will destroy it with 10 missiles),” Munir was quoted as saying.
“The Indus River is not the Indians’ family property. Humein missilon ki kami nahi hai, al-Hamdulillah (we don’t have a missile shortage, Praise be to God),” he added.
What India said in response
In a statement, the MEA said such comments raised doubts about Pakistan’s nuclear command and control, “particularly in a state where the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups.”
The ministry called it “regrettable” that these threats were made on the soil of a friendly third country.
“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,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
“It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country,” he added.
