Shashi Tharoor rips into 'bigoted' Pak army chief Asim Munir in hard-hitting piece, warns of dangerous scenario

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has mounted a scathing attack on Asim Munir in an extensive column, wondering how anyone in the 21st century can utter statements the Pakistani army chief has made in the recent weeks.

In an opinion piece on NDTV, Tharoor called out Pakistan for repeatedly using nuclear blackmail as a weapon, saying that it's not the bomb that poses the danger but the hand that hovers over the button.

Tharoor said that Munir, who is now the Field Marshal, has his hands on the nuclear button in Pakistan and described him as an "openly sectarian, divisive and bigoted" man.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP wondered how Munir can even suggest that it's impossible for Muslims to live in a non-Muslim majority India to justify his claims that Kashmir is the "jugular vein of Pakistan". He was referring to Munir's incendiary anti-India remarks made just before the Pahalgam attack.

Tharoor noted that Munir’s threats are not confined to Pakistan but echoed even on American soil, “under the warm glow of Washington’s welcome.” He recalled how, during a US visit, Munir warned that Pakistan could “take down half the world” if provoked by India — a reckless nuclear boast that, instead of sparking alarm, was met with diplomatic indulgence.

Tharoor said this reflected the familiar US-Pakistan pattern where strategic convenience too often outweighs moral clarity.

He accused the Pakistani military of using its nuclear arsenal not as a deterrent but as a “diplomatic cudgel – a tool to intimidate India, extract concessions, and shield itself from accountability.”

On Washington’s continued engagement with Islamabad, Tharoor wrote in NDTV: “Now that US forces are no longer deployed in Afghanistan, what is it that makes Americans regard Pakistan as a partner? Improbably enough – since we are talking about the country run by the leading military sponsors of terrorism on the planet – it is supposed to be counter-terrorism co-operation.”

Quoting experts like Prof. C. Christine Fair, Tharoor said the Americans have been “played” by the ISI.

Tharoor also warned that Munir’s “chest-thumping” after the recent Pahalgam terror attack, which killed innocent civilians, was “virtually an admission of responsibility.”

During Operation Sindoor, India had said that Munir's speech was indeed a trigger for the dastardly attack which left 26 innocent civilians dead.

He noted that Pakistan’s threats to escalate even over India’s dam-building plans showed how dangerously destabilising Munir’s leadership had become.

During his US visit, Munir had said that Pakistan will wait for India to construct a dam on the Indus river and then blow it up with bombs.

The Congress MP described Munir’s self-promotion to Field Marshal as a dangerous step that could cement military rule in Pakistan. He warned of a possibility that Munir could seize full political control for himself and formalise the military's grip on Pakistan's state apparatus.

“In such a scenario, permanent brinkmanship becomes policy, and the risks to India and global stability multiply exponentially,” he wrote.

Calling on the world to shed its illusions about Pakistan, Tharoor wrote in his NDTV piece: “The danger is not just Pakistan’s bomb – it is the cosy geopolitical arrangement that allows nuclear threats to flourish unchecked. When the international community rewards provocation with partnership, it emboldens the very forces that imperil peace.”