'We are aware': US State Department tells Firstpost on Munir's nuclear threats

The US Department has told Firstpost that it is aware of reports of Field Marshal Asim Munir, the Pakistani Army chief, making nuclear threats from American soil.

When asked by Firstpost’s Madhur Sharma about Munir's threats of nuclear catastrophe in general and missile attacks on India in particular made from American soil while on a visit at the invitation of the US government, the State Department said it was aware of the remarks but refused to address them.

“We are aware of these reports and would refer you to the Government of Pakistan regarding Chief of Army Staff Munir’s alleged remarks,” the State Department told Firstpost’s Sharma in response to his queries.

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Earlier this month, it emerged that Munir had hade repeated threats to attack India, and unleash a nuclear catastrophe on the whole world, at a private event in the Florida state of the United States.

Munir said that “we are a nuclear nation, if we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us”, according to The Print.

Specifically referring to India, Munir threatened to attack India with missiles: “We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, we will destroy it with 10 missiles…The Indus river is not the Indians’ family property. We have no shortage of missiles, Praise be to God.”

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ALSO READ: ‘From the soil of a friendly country’: India calls Munir’s ‘nuclear sabre rattling’ from US ‘regrettable’

Munir made these remarks at a black-tie dinner hosted for Munir by businessman Adnan Asad in Tampa, Florida. He was in the country to attend the farewell function for General Michael Kurilla, the head of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), who retired last week.

India reacted sharply to Munir’s speech and also indicted the US government.

“It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

As for Munir’s remarks, the MEA said that nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade and proves that Pakistan is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups.

“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,” the statement read.

In his second term, US President Donald Trump has ramped up engagement with Pakistan. He has signed a trade deal with the country and, in an unprecedented act, invited Munir for a meeting at the White House .

At the same time, the India-US ties have nosedived as Trump has waged an aggressive tariff war on the country, slapping 50 per cent tariffs and slamming the country over its trade policies. He has also undermined India’s position on Operation Sindoor by claiming that it was his intervention —and not Indian military action and Pakistan’s request to India— that led to the ceasefire on May 10 after four days of conflict.