‘Asim Munir Is Osama Bin Laden in a Suit’: Ex-Pentagon Official Criticizes Pakistan’s Nuclear Rhetoric

‘Asim Munir Is Osama Bin Laden in a Suit’: A former Pentagon analyst has slammed Pakistan’s recent nuclear rhetoric, saying the country is acting like “a rogue state” after its army chief made threatening comments on US soil.

The controversy revolves around remarks attributed to Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir, who allegedly said if Pakistan “goes down, it will take half the world down” with it. The comments were reportedly made during a meeting in Tampa, Florida with US military officials.

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and Middle East analyst, told ANI that Munir’s statements were “completely unacceptable” and compared them to statements made by ISIS and Osama bin Laden.

"Pakistan is raising questions in many people's minds about whether it can fulfil the responsibilities of being a state. The Field Marshal's rhetoric is reminiscent of what we've heard from the Islamic State," Rubin said.

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He also said General Munir should be declared persona non grata and banned from getting US visas.

Rubin noted that Trump’s welcome to the Pakistan army chief is a departure from the strong bipartisan support for the US-India partnership that has been building since the George W. Bush administration.

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s fresh nuclear threat to India has reinforced the long-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in the country where the military is “hand-in-glove” with terrorist groups, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday while adding New Delhi will not succumb to any nuclear blackmail.

Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s “bread and butter”, it said. MEA said India will take all necessary steps to safeguard its national security.

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It’s also unfortunate that these remarks were made from the soil of a “friendly third country”, it said in an apparent message to Washington.

Government sources said the Pakistan Army chief’s comments are part of a pattern in Pakistan as whenever the US supports the Pakistan military, they always show their “true colours” of aggression.

It’s a symptom that democracy doesn’t exist in Pakistan and it’s their military which controls the country, they said.

"Emboldened by reception and welcome by the US, the next step could possibly be a silent or open coup in Pakistan so that the Field Marshal becomes the President," said a source.

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