Nuclear brinkmanship as statecraft: Pakistan's reckless posturing and the case for disarmament

Nuclear weapons are a shield for Pakistan's adventurism. Pakistan is a country with terrorist links and weak command and control. On the one hand, Pakistan harbors groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, raising fears of a nuclear-terror nexus; on the other hand, frequent military coups increase risks of unauthorized launches or theft.

- PRANJAL CHATURVEDI AND RUCHIKA KUMARI

Pakistan Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir while addressing the Pakistani diaspora in the United States, on August 10 said, "We are a nuclear nation, if we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us".

The Indian government expressed its displeasure through MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, who responded on August 11, 2025 (Monday), "It is regrettable that such a remark has been made from the friendly third country", further stating Asim Munir's latest "nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan's stock-in-trade".

Giving the benefit of the doubt, it may be a coincidence that Asim Munir's threatening remarks came just a day after the 80^th anniversary of the Nuclear attack on Nagasaki (Japan).

It was dismalizing for the global community to notice that on the one hand, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged all the countries to work towards nuclear disarmament; on the other hand, the Army Chief of Pakistan, a controlled state, 'Pakistan', is threatening to take half the world down.

In the United States, the sane voices are looking at Asim Munir's statement with great dismay. Ex. US Official Michael Rubin, expressing his displeasure with Munir's statement, described Munir as "Osama bin Laden in a suit".

From Britain (a NATO ally), author David Vance condemned Asim Munir's nuclear threats, calling them "absolutely scandalous and disgraceful".

Further, Vance stated that he would like to see the "US break off diplomatic relations with Pakistan until it starts to behave like a civilized country, which it hasn't in a long time".

NUCLEAR DOCTRINE: BUILT ON INSTABILITY AND BLUSTER:

The pronouncement by General Asim Munir transcends the strategic ambiguity of nuclear deterrence and enters the realm of explicit, maximalist threat-making.

The core principle of nuclear deterrence is Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).