Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir revived anti-India rhetoric at a cadet ceremony even as the military struggles against intensifying Taliban attacks. His remarks are being seen as an attempt to shift focus from the criticism back home.
Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has once again fallen back on anti-India rhetoric as his forces faced serious setbacks in clashes with the Taliban along the Afghanistan border. Speaking at the passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Abbottabad, Munir, without naming India, claimed there was “no space for war in a nuclearised environment”.
Resorting to empty rhetoric, the army chief of Pakistan, a state-sponsor of terrorism, said that even a “minor provocation” would invite a “decisive” response from Pakistan. However, the fallacy of Pakistan army’s strength was exposed by India during Operation Sindoor, where the armed forces not only flattended nine terror camps deep inside Pakistan, but also targeted 11 military bases.
“Should a fresh wave of hostilities be triggered, Pakistan would respond much beyond the expectations of the initiators,” Munir said. “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 war-space,” he further added.
Continuing with his provocative tirade, the army chief cautioned that the onus of future escalations, “one that may ultimately bear catastrophic consequences for the entire region and beyond”, would squarely lie with India.
Perhaps, Munir forgot how India left Pakistan embarassed during the hostilities in May by jamming its Chinese-made air defence systems and destroying 8–10 fighter jets. The jets included US-made F-16s and Chinese JF-17s, as was revealed by Indian Air Force (IAF) chief AP Singh earlier this month.
Munir’s remarks come at a time when the Pakistani army is facing criticism back home over its handling of the deteriorating security situation along the Afghan border, which has witnessed intense clashes.
Observers see Munir’s remarks as an attempt to deflect public attention from internal setbacks by invoking Pakistan’s familiar anti-India narrative.
Munir also issued a warning to the Taliban regime, demanding action against militant groups operating from Afghan soil, particularly the TTP.
“A handful of terrorists cannot harm Pakistan,” he said, vowing to “raise to dust” all proxies using Afghanistan as a base. His statement follows recent Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan, carried out days after a short-lived ceasefire between Islamabad and Kabul.
Munir urged the Afghan leadership to “choose between peace and chaos”, insisting that all groups using Afghan territory to target Pakistan would face a decisive response. Kabul, however, has denied Islamabad’s allegations, maintaining that Afghan soil is not being used against any neighbouring country.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir, Munir urged India to resolve “core issues” under international law and reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to providing “moral and diplomatic support” to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring to the recent conflict with India, Munir claimed Pakistan’s armed forces demonstrated “remarkable professionalism” and “far-reaching capabilities” by neutralising threats.
