Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade: India on Asim Munir's remark

Condemning Munir's remarks, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it "won't give in to nuclear blackmail".

The MEA's statement reads, "Our attention has been drawn to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff while on a visit to the United States. 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. India has already made it clear that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail. We will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard our national security," it added.

Munir said that Islamabad would not hesitate to plunge the region into nuclear conflict if the country faces an existential threat in a future war with New Delhi.

"We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us," Munir said as quoted by NDTV.

This is the first instance of nuclear threats issued by Pakistan from US soil against a third country.

Interestingly, this comes amid US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he brokered a ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan during a military conflict in May.

India has categorically rejected such a claim.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared he held no phone calls with any head of state during Operation Sindoor.

The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor hitting nine terrorist bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

The military conflict escalated after Pakistan targeted civilians across the borders without any provocation to be aptly countered by the Indian military.

Nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were targeted and destroyed in 25 minutes of Operation Sindoor.

The terrorists camps were the major training hubs of Pak-based terror groups- Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the operation was aimed at neutralizing terror camps actively involved in planning and executing attacks against India.