The general is at it again. Ratcheting up his hostile rhetoric against India during yet another trip to the United States of America, the Pakistan army chief, Asim Munir, at a meeting of Pakistan’s diaspora in Tampa, is believed to have stated that the country will not hesitate to use its nuclear arsenal if placed in a dire situation. Recordings of Mr Munir’s inflammatory speech are not available but, significantly, the Pakistan army has not denied media reports that quoted the army chief indulging in provocation. It must also be pointed out that Mr Munir had made controversial remarks just days before the terrorist carnage in Pahalgam. India’s response to Mr Munir’s latest comments has been not just firm but also strategically sound. The external affairs ministry described his comments as “stock-in-trade” nuclear sabre-rattling and also urged the international community to take note that Mr Munir’s irresponsible statement lends credence to sustained global concerns about the integrity of the nuclear command and control mechanism of Pakistan, whose military’s patronage of extremist organisations is well-documented. In other words, Mr Munir, in the course of his nuclear chest-thumping, has scored an own goal. His reckless views are certainly going to cement perceptions of Pakistan being a potentially rogue nuclear nation-state.
There is, however, reason to place Mr Munir’s comment in the global context. This is because experts are of the view that the world has re-entered, ironically on the 80th anniversary of the twin horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a dangerous time of renewed nuclear threats. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has not been averse to weaponising Moscow’s nuclear arsenal as an intimidatory tactic; Russia has even abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty that banned medium- and short-range nuclear missiles amidst NATO’s consolidation of its nuclear arsenal. Ominously, in its annual appraisal of armaments, disarmaments and international security, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has found that the global nuclear armaments are not only being enlarged and upgraded but also more nations are contemplating acquiring nuclear weapons. All these developments are bringing international arms control mechanisms under tremendous pressure. The concept of nuclear arms as deterrents is also being hollowed out. A renewed global campaign for an effective anti-nuclear charter is perhaps the need of the hour. Should such a mobilisation not begin by demanding accountability of Mr Munir and his country?