Pakistan Denies India's Claim of 'Nuclear Blackmail' by Army Chief Munir

Pakistan has refuted India's allegations that its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, engaged in "nuclear blackmail" during his recent visit to the United States. In a statement released on Monday, Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry dismissed the claim as "misleading" and "self-serving," describing India's assertions as "immature" and suggesting that they demonstrate a "chronic tendency to distort facts and twist statements out of context."

This exchange of accusations follows Munir's comments in Washington, where he cautioned that if Pakistan were driven to the brink of conflict with India, it would "take half the world down" with it. In response, India's Ministry of External Affairs criticized the statement as an instance of Pakistan's "nuclear sabre-rattling" and raised concerns about the reliability of Islamabad’s nuclear command and control, pointing to alleged military ties with terrorist groups.

Pakistan, in its defense, asserted that it is a "responsible nuclear weapon state" with a command system under full civilian control. It warned that any act of aggression or breach of Pakistan's sovereignty by India would be met with an immediate and equivalent response, asserting that any escalation should be attributed to Indian leadership.

Furthermore, Pakistan criticized India's mention of Munir's comments being made in a "friendly third country," describing it as an unnecessary attempt to drag other nations into bilateral disputes.

This verbal spat represents the latest episode in a series of escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, each accusing the other of destabilizing the region.