Owaisi Calls Pak Army Chief ‘Sadakchaap Aaadmi’ Over Nuclear Threat, Urges Modi Govt's Political Response: WATCH

Asaduddin Owaisi condemned Pakistan's Army Chief Munir's nuclear threats against India, calling them "street thug" talk. He urged a strong political response from the Modi government and an increase in India's defence budget.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday criticised Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, for issuing a nuclear threat against India during his visit to the United States, likening the comments to those of a “sadakchaap aadmi” (street thug).

Speaking to ANI, Owaisi said: “Pakistan Army Chief’s words and his threats are condemnable. What’s unfortunate is that this is happening from the US, which is India’s strategic partner. He is speaking like a ‘sadakchaap aadmi’. We believe the Modi government should give a political response like the MEA statement.”

He further expressed disappointment over the location of the remarks, saying the use of American soil for such statements was unacceptable.

Owaisi Calls for Stronger Defence Budget

Owaisi also stressed the need for a significant increase in India’s defence spending to counter ongoing threats from Pakistan’s military and “deep state.”

“We also need to understand that with the constant threat we will have from the Pakistani Army and their deep state, we will have to increase our defence budget so that we can stay prepared,” he told ANI.

In a post on X, Owaisi reiterated: “Pakistan Army Chief’s threats & language against India are condemnable. That he did this from the US soil makes it worse. It deserves a Political response from the Modi government & not just the MEA statement.” He added that the “low budgetary allocation for defence by the Modi Government can’t continue any longer.”

MEA Hits Back at ‘Nuclear Sabre-Rattling’

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a sharp rebuttal to Munir’s reported remarks, stating: “Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade.” An official spokesperson added that such comments “reinforce the well-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in a state where the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups.”

“It is also regrettable that these remarks were made from the soil of a friendly third country,” the spokesperson said in an apparent reference to Washington.

Munir’s Threats and Water Dispute Remarks

According to reports in The Dawn and ARY News, Munir, while addressing the Pakistani-American community in Tampa, Florida, claimed Pakistan could use nuclear weapons against India and “half the world” if faced with an existential threat. He also vowed to defend Pakistan’s water rights “at all costs” if India proceeded with dam construction on the Indus River.

“We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it,” Munir was quoted as saying by The Dawn. He further referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein,” claiming it was not India’s internal matter but an “unresolved international issue.”