New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor responded firmly on Monday to the nuclear threats made by Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir during his visit to the United States. Following Munir’s comments that Pakistan could use nuclear weapons to take down India and "half the world" in an existential conflict, Tharoor emphasised that India will not surrender to nuclear blackmail.

Speaking to the media, Tharoor said, "The Ministry has given a fitting reply... We are not going to surrender to nuclear blackmail. This gentleman has a habit of saying things to the Pakistan diaspora that are apparently intended to boost his position. India knows how to handle these things in the air and on the ground. I am not too worried."

Earlier, at the conclusion of the Parliamentary Committee Meeting on External Affairs, Tharoor echoed the official position of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), affirming that nuclear blackmail would not work with India. He noted concerns over Munir making such statements on American soil, describing it as a misuse of a friendly country’s territory. Tharoor said, "The committee shares the same view that we are not going to allow this kind of nonsense to influence our thinking."

The MEA also issued a strong statement condemning the remarks by General Munir, calling nuclear sabre-rattling "Pakistan’s stock-in-trade" and highlighting the irresponsibility of making such comments from the soil of a friendly third country. The spokesperson underscored concerns about the integrity of Pakistan’s nuclear command and control, given the military's ties with terrorist groups.

General Munir's statements during his visit reiterated threats of plunging South Asia into nuclear war and claimed Pakistan’s readiness to defend its water rights at all costs, specifically targeting India’s dam construction on the Indus River. Munir described Kashmir as Pakistan’s "jugular vein," asserting it is an unresolved international issue rather than an internal Indian matter. He vowed to destroy any Indian dams on the Indus River, declaring Islamabad has "no shortage of resources to undo the Indian designs to stop the river."

With inputs from ANI