All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday hit out at Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir for his latest diatribe against India in the United States, wherein he said, "We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us."
Speaking to news agency ANI, Owaisi condemned Asim Munir's remarks against India, saying, "The Pakistan Army Chief's words and his threats are condemnable. What's unfortunate is that this is happening in the US, which is India's strategic partner."
Lashing out at the Pakistan Army chief, Owaisi said, "He is speaking like a 'sadakchaap aadmi'... We also need to understand that with the constant threat we face from the Pakistani Army and their deep state, we will have to increase our defence budget so that we can stay prepared."
The Government of India has responded to Asim Munir's statement, saying his remarks demonstrate that Pakistan is an irresponsible nuclear-armed state.
Responding to Munir's alleged statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement on Monday, asserting that India will not give in to nuclear blackmail and will continue taking all necessary steps to safeguard its national security.
"Our attention has been drawn to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff during his visit to the United States," the MEA said in a release.
"Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistanâs stock-in-trade. The international community can draw its own conclusions about the irresponsibility of such remarks, which only reinforce long-standing concerns over the integrity of nuclear command and control in a state where the military operates hand-in-glove with terrorist groups."
