Hollow Rhetoric?

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir's venomous anti-India tirade in Tampa presents an ominous echo of past dictators' jingoism risking regional and global peace

- SHANTANU MUKHARJI

Once again, Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan, came into sharp focus when he opened his mouth and made acerbic comments against India. Munir was speaking in Tampa, Florida (August 9), while attending the farewell function of outgoing Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander, General Michael E Kurilla. It is also interesting to note that Kurilla was in Pakistan recently and was conferred the title of Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military), a high-level decoration bestowed only on exceptional dignitaries. This honour, most extraordinary, indicates that Pakistan continues to flatter the US at the risk of incurring the wrath of China amid the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. This was Munir's second US trip in less than two months, which also shows a clear US reciprocity to the COAS's overtures to further befriend Washington. On his first visit, he even had a luncheon meeting with Trump, prompting him to recommend a Nobel Prize for the US President.