‘Will shatter India’s geographical immunity: Asim Munir's latest nuclear rhetoric

Pakistan’s most recent military embarrassment comes even as its top commander warns India of devastating retaliation.

In an aggressive address at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, on Saturday, reportedly warned India that Pakistan’s expanding military capabilities could “shatter the misconceived immunity of India’s geographical warspace". He further cautioned that there was “no space for war in a nuclearised environment.”

Delivering what appeared to be one of his most provocative speeches yet, Munir, as per a report by Pakistani daily Dawn, said that Pakistan had achieved a “clear victory” in its brief May confrontation with India and vowed that any “minor provocation” from India would invite a response “decisive, beyond proportions.”

“I advise and firmly caution India’s military leadership that there is no space for war in a nuclearised environment,” the Pakistan army chief allegedly declared, states the report by Dawn, even going to the extent of remarking, “Should a fresh wave of hostilities be triggered, Pakistan would respond much beyond the expectations of the initiators".

New Delhi, meanwhile, continues to deny Munir's tall claims of "clear victory" for the past six months.

Also, further claiming that Pakistan’s expanding strike capability had reduced the gap between communication and combat zones, Munir allegedly warned, “With diminishing distinctions between conflict and communication zones, the reach and lethality of our weapon systems will shatter the misconceived immunity of India’s geographic warspace.”

He added that Pakistan’s retaliatory capability could inflict “deeply hurting retributive military and economic losses beyond the imagination of the perpetrators.”

Furthermore, switching tone midway, the Pak army chief said Pakistan had “successfully emerged as a net regional stabiliser” amid global turmoil, citing closer ties with China, the US, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. He hailed Islamabad’s “historic all-weather partnership” with Beijing and praised US President Donald Trump’s “strategic leadership to bring peace to conflict-prone regions.”

Ironically, Munir's strong rhetoric comes at a time when the Pakistani military is reportedly under pressure following a string of deadly attacks by the Afghan Taliban along the Durand Line.

Munir, states a CNN-News18 report, was forced this week to convene an emergency late-night meeting at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi after Taliban fighters overran several Pakistani military posts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The meeting, described as “tense and uncompromising,” reportedly brought together top commanders, including Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Omer Ahmed Bokhari, Commander Southern Command Lt Gen Rahat Naseem Ahmed Khan, and intelligence chiefs.

Sources cited in the report said that Munir lambasted his generals for a “massive intelligence failure” and the “loss of strategic control” along the western frontier. He reportedly demanded written explanations within a week and warned the army must “regain control and restore strategic depth before it’s too late.”

Notably, Pakistan’s most recent military embarrassment comes even as its top commander warns India of devastating retaliation. Once seen as Islamabad’s “strategic asset,” the Afghan Taliban has now turned its guns on the Pakistani Army. This reversal has exposed the risks of Pakistan’s long-standing policy of militant patronage.