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The comments of the US State Department to CNN-News18 show the country is refusing to take onus on the matter
Asim Munir was hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House in June.
The US government has told CNN-News18 that it is aware of reports about Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s alleged remarks regarding nuclear warfare and said it “would refer you to the Government of Pakistan” regarding these comments. Munir made these remarks while he was in the US.
CNN-News18 had asked the US State Department if it had taken note of reports about Munir’s remarks on American soil regarding his nuclear threat and the Indian statement in reaction to it.
“We are aware of these reports and would refer you to the Government of Pakistan regarding Chief of Army Staff Munir’s alleged remarks,” a US State Department spokesperson said in an e-mail response to the query.
Speaking at a dinner in the US last week, Munir reportedly said, “We (Pakistan) are a nuclear nation; if we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us.” This was an unprecedented nuclear threat issued by a country, and that too from US soil.
India had reacted strongly to this with a statement on August 11, saying nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade.
“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. It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country,” the Indian government said in a statement on August 11.
India also said it will not give in to nuclear blackmail and will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard its national security.
Munir was earlier hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House in June in an unprecedented move, a gesture not extended so far to the Pakistani President or Prime Minister. He was again in the US, on a second trip for the farewell of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Michael Kurilla.
There have been concerns in India over the US giving a platform to Munir to make such nuclear threats, and the comments of the State Department to CNN-News18 show the country is refusing to take onus on the matter.
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office….Read More
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office…. Read More
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