‘Whenever US backs Pakistan...’: Govt sources slam Asim Munir’s nuclear threat from American soil

File Photo - A man sits beside a poster featuring Pakistani Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, along a road in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, on May 14, 2025.

Pakistani Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s provocative remarks on Indus Waters Treaty and his nuclear threat of “taking down half of the world” have invoked a sharp reaction from New Delhi. CNN-News18 quoted government sources saying that Munir’s threatening remarks are proof that Pakistan is “an irresponsible state with nuclear weapons."

They also warned of a “real danger” that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal could fall into the hands of non-state actors.

According to the sources, Munir’s statement reflects a recurring pattern: “Whenever the US supports the Pakistan military, they always show their true colours.” They added that such rhetoric highlights the absence of democracy in Pakistan, “where it is their military which controls.”

Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned Munir’s threats and said that nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan's stock-in-trade, and reiterated that New Delhi will not give in to nuclear blackmail.

The Ministry expressed regret that Munir chose to make such remarks while in a friendly third country, adding that India would continue to take all necessary measures to protect its national security.

"The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks, which also reinforces 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," the statement read.

Citing Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s earlier warning, CNN-News18 quoted the sources reiterating that Pakistan’s non-state actors could compromise its nuclear weapons, and urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to place Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal under monitoring.

“Pakistan’s reckless nuclear threats have not deterred India’s resolve to eliminate terrorism. I ask the global community — are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of such an irresponsible and rogue nation? These weapons must come under IAEA supervision,” they said.

Munir, speaking to the Pakistani diaspora in Tampa, Florida, had issued a stark warning that Islamabad would be ready to plunge the region into nuclear war and “take almost half of the world” down if it faced an existential threat in a future conflict with New Delhi.

He also threatened to destroy under-construction Indian dams with missiles.

“We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, phir 10 missile sey faarigh kar dengey (we will destroy it with 10 missiles). The Indus River is not the Indians’ family property. Humein missailon ki kami nahin hai (we have no shortage of missiles),” Munir said.

On Kashmir, Munir reiterated that it was “not an internal matter of India but an incomplete international agenda,” adding: “As the Quaid-e-Azam had said, Kashmir is the ‘jugular vein’ of Pakistan.”

Munir said his second visit to the US in less than two months marked a “new dimension” in Pakistan-US relations, aimed at putting ties on a “constructive, sustainable and positive path.” He also expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump, crediting his “strategic leadership” with stopping a war between India and Pakistan and preventing “many other wars around the world.”