Given the nature of the black tie dinner in Tampa where Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir held out nuclear threats against India and warned the world of an apocalypse, it would not have been feasible to ask the general about reports that he moved to a bunker during Operation Sindoor. Or about military airfields in need for repair weeks after the conflict. The attendees were no doubt carefully curated but if any did harbour a sliver of doubt, it likely remained unresolved.
Munir’s comments about Pakistan using nuclear weapons if it was going down and that it would take “half the world” along and threats about hitting dams India might construct on the Indus with missiles generated much discussion. Was the general – promoted to field marshal – making sure the ‘N’ word remains relevant? What was to be made of threats issued on US soil? Taking note of the fulminations, the Ministry of External Affairs said India will not succumb to nuclear blackmail and questioned the integrity of Pakistan’s nuclear command and control.
Pakistan’s leaders know that nuclear threats, even loosely issued, never fail to get the attention of the world which rightly views likely use of atomic weapons with alarm. Pakistan’s elites have for long convinced themselves that nuclear weapons are a magic mantra. But overuse has seen the shock effect wearing off. General Munir’s boasts sound more like rants of a tinpot dictator rather than a military leader who desires to be taken seriously.
Though nuclear weapons do not lend themselves to comedy, General Munir’s theatrics are quite over the top. He comes across as a real life version of Rastapopoulos, the bumbling tuxedo-clad villain in Tintin comics, whose actions give rise to hilarious episodes.
If the idea behind his Tampa address was to tell the Pakistani diaspora that their homeland’s ‘blackmail card’ is intact, his choice of words was hardly assuring. He might have only reminded the world that the keys to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal are in the hands of unaccountable and garrulous generals.
Disclaimer: Excerpts from “Munir the Menace” by Rajeev Deshpande , originally published in Open Magazine on August 14, 2025.Read the original article here: https://openthemagazine.com/feature/munir-the-menace/
