New Delhi: India on Thursday issued a strong warning to Pakistan, cautioning that any reckless misadventure, including threats of nuclear conflict, would invite “painful consequences,” as demonstrated in the past. The statement came in response to provocative remarks by Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, during his visit to the United States.
Addressing the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned Pakistan’s continued “reckless warmongering and hateful comments” against India. “Pakistan would be well advised to temper its rhetoric as any misadventure will have painful consequences, as was demonstrated recently,” Jaiswal said, referring to India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’, which was launched after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that claimed 26 innocent lives.
General Munir, on his second visit to the US, had openly threatened India with the possibility of a nuclear strike, claiming that Pakistan could plunge the region into a catastrophic conflict and “take almost half of the world down” if faced with an existential crisis. He further warned that Pakistan would defend its “water rights at all costs” and threatened to destroy any Indian dam built on the Indus River.
The MEA spokesperson described such remarks as irresponsible and dangerous, highlighting Pakistan’s repeated attempts to whip up anti-India rhetoric to divert attention from its domestic failures. “It is a well-known modus operandi of Pakistani leadership to whip up anti-India rhetoric time and again to hide their own failures,” Jaiswal said.
Earlier this week, India had already criticized Munir’s comments, calling nuclear sabre-rattling “Pakistan’s stock-in-trade.” The MEA reiterated concerns about the integrity of Pakistan’s nuclear command and control, especially in a state where the military is accused of being “hand-in-glove with terrorist groups.”
India’s sharp response underscores its firm stance on cross-border threats and its unwillingness to tolerate rhetoric that jeopardizes regional peace. By invoking Operation Sindoor and pointing to past consequences, New Delhi sought to remind Islamabad that hostile adventurism will be met with decisive retaliation.
As tensions rise, international observers are expected to closely watch developments, especially given the volatile nature of nuclear threats in South Asia.
