- 6 months ago
In this edition of Newstrack, the focus is on Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's nuclear threat issued from American soil. Munir stated that if Pakistan faced an existential threat, "it will take half the world down with it, using nukes."
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00:00Pakistan's nuke threat from U.S. soil.
00:07Army chief warns India over Indus water.
00:14Threatens to blow up India's Indus dam.
00:21India asserts nuke blackmail won't work.
00:28Pakistan's nuke sabre rattling quashed by India.
00:43Jihad's general nuke threat.
00:46That is our top focus on Newstrak.
00:58Hello and welcome. Good evening. You're watching Newstrak here on India Today.
01:03I'm Akshita Nandakopal. As we just gave you a glimpse, we're going to be talking about that shocking nuclear threat that came in from the Pakistani army chief, from Jihadi General Asim Munir.
01:15And surprisingly, he made this comment in America.
01:19Now, what really explains why he's being given a platform repeatedly to make these kind of incendiary, provocative statements in America?
01:26We're going to be talking about that.
01:27And also, why Pakistan constantly resorts to nuke threats each time.
01:32Right after Perhalkam, too, they did this.
01:34We'll tell you all about that.
01:36Let's begin with the breaking news that's coming in.
01:44Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy will not be a part of the peace meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska.
01:51There's been a sustained campaign by Ukraine, backed by the European Union, to have Zelenskyy at that meeting between Trump and Putin.
01:59It will not happen as Trump has confirmed that Zelenskyy will not be attending the Alaska huddle.
02:05Remember that Trump and Putin will be meeting on August 15th in Alaska for what's being referred to as a peace meet.
02:12And Trump has made it clear that the Ukrainian president will not be there.
02:16Trump asked about what really could be expected in that meeting.
02:20He said that essentially in the first two minutes, I will know if a deal can happen with Putin or not to bring an end to this war.
02:28Listen in to what Trump said.
02:31He wasn't a part of it.
02:33I would say he could go, but he's gone to a lot of meetings.
02:36You know, he's been there for three and a half years. Nothing happened.
02:39Well, we're going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
02:41And at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.
02:47He wasn't a part of it.
02:49I would say he could go, but he's gone to a lot of meetings.
02:52You know, he's been there for three and a half years. Nothing happened.
02:55Well, we're going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
02:57And at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.
03:03OK, so that is the statement that's come in from the U.S. President Donald Trump, making it very clear that this is going to be a one on one meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
03:13And there's no question of Ukraine being a part of the meeting that takes place in Alaska.
03:20A breakthrough meat of sorts because we've been seeing how the U.S. president has been taking on Russia.
03:25But amid that sustained campaign by Ukraine, by the EU to get our Ukraine also on the talking table in Alaska has been thwarted, at least on Trump's part, who says there's no question of Zelensky being there.
03:38I'll bring in a foreign affairs editor Geeta Mohan for more on this.
03:41Geeta, Trump making it very clear that there's no invite that will be going to Zelensky.
03:46He was trying very hard to get as much support as he could to ensure he's there in Alaska, too, but doesn't look like it's happening.
03:53Well, I can't hear you very well, Akshita, if you can hear me.
04:02The Trump, the Trump Zelensky, the Trump Putin meeting is going to take place in Alaska.
04:08Zelensky was never supposed to be a part of that plan.
04:11It was supposed to be a bilateral meeting that was to take place.
04:14There was a lot of speculation if Zelensky is going to join in or not.
04:17But this is a bilateral meeting.
04:19It is one where, like Trump said, he's going to look at whether if Putin really means business or not.
04:27He's already said that he's going to look at it.
04:29And in the first two minutes, he'll know whether there's a deal or not.
04:32But a significant statement that he's made, a significant part of his statement is, Akshita,
04:37that he is going to ask Putin to give some of the land back and that Russia has a lot of important land.
04:44Now, we do know that Donetsk and Luhansk are not areas that, or Crimea for that matter, not areas that Russia is going to compromise and negotiate on.
04:53But are we looking at Kherson, Zaporizhia?
04:55It has the nuclear power plant, very resource rich.
04:58And if that's the case, Putin will certainly not pay heed to any of the conversations or demands of US President Trump.
05:07Having said that, he is also going to engage EU after the talks with Putin and look at a way forward for Ukraine.
05:14And then he said he's further going to meet Zelensky separately too, or maybe with Putin.
05:21So there could be a trilateral in the future should the Alaska meeting really succeed.
05:26But ceding land for Russia certainly right now doesn't look like an option at all.
05:31All right. So we'll see what really plays out.
05:33But what's very clear is that on August 15th, when Trump and Putin meet, it will be a one on one meeting.
05:39There's no place for Ukraine or for Zelensky in that particular huddle that will take place in Alaska.
05:44Thanks for the moment, Geeta, for joining us.
05:48Away from that news break, let's get your top focus here on news track, which is on Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
05:56In US, was there for a second time months after his meeting with Donald Trump for a luncheon at the White House.
06:02This time in America has issued a shocking nuclear threat.
06:06And it's not just against India, but against half the world.
06:10We're not exaggerating because what Munir said is that he will take half the world,
06:15saying Pakistan will take half the world down using Pakistan's nuke in case there is any existential threat to his country.
06:23Repeatedly, we've seen this kind of loose, extremely irresponsible, provocative statements being made.
06:29And yet the world, including America, chooses to look the other way, chooses to ignore it.
06:35India, however, has repeatedly called out these kind of remarks, including this time,
06:39making it crystal clear that nuclear blackmail will simply not work.
06:43Let's get your details of exactly what Asim Munir said this time around
06:46and remind you again that he said this in America.
06:51Pakistan still reeling under Operation Sindoor Plum.
07:03And now its army chief's nuclear threat to India from American soil has triggered shockwaves.
07:17Field Marshal Asim Munir did not just target India.
07:26He threatened the world, saying if Pakistan faced an existential threat from India,
07:32it will take half the world down with it, using nukes.
07:36It will take half the world down with it.
07:37It will take half the world down with it.
07:38It will take half the world down with it.
07:39It will take half the world down with it.
07:40It will take half the world down with it.
07:45Munir did not stop there.
07:48He threatened missile strikes an Indian dam over the Indus River, claiming the river was not India's property.
07:55In a shocking analogy, Munir compared India to a Mercedes speeding like a Ferrari,
08:03while calling Pakistan a gravel-filled dump truck, asking who really gets hurt in a crash.
08:10Munir, while quoting Islamic versus, claimed that leading Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani could be a target in any future war.
08:19India will have to fight Pakistan's state-sponsored radical Islamist terror alone,
08:24because America will look after Donald Trump's interests.
08:28Right now, America is not even looking after its own interests.
08:31America will look after Donald Trump's interests.
08:33China will look after its own interests and use Pakistan against India.
08:37All of this is being done to stem India's spectacular rise, which is what India is aiming to do,
08:44is rise as a strong power, as a strong economic power, as a strong military power.
08:49And there will be all methods used, including using Pakistan like it has happened for the past several decades,
08:56to stem India's rise.
08:58India slammed the remarks as reckless, dangerous and globally destabilising.
09:04MEA said Pakistan is using soil of a friendly country to target India.
09:10India termed nuclear threat as Pakistan's favourite playbook.
09:15It also asked the global community to take note of the threat,
09:19where Pakistan nukes can fall in hands of Pakistan army-linked terror groups.
09:24India made it clear that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail,
09:29and take all steps to safeguard national security.
09:33And now the critical question,
09:36will the United States act against a nuclear threat issued from its own soil,
09:41especially when US President Donald Trump has been vocal in stopping nuclear escalation?
09:47As the Pakistan mask slips again,
09:50world is witnessing a rogue military in control,
09:54a democracy in name,
09:56and nuclear weapons in dangerous hands.
10:01Pakistan's threats are no longer regional,
10:04they are global.
10:06The question is,
10:07who will act before it's too late?
10:10With Gaurav Savan,
10:12Bureau Report,
10:13India Today.
10:14And after Aasem Munir,
10:26unsurprisingly,
10:27we'll have another provocation.
10:29This time from Bilaval Bhutto,
10:31former Pakistani foreign minister,
10:33who's threatened war against India,
10:35saying if India continues to put Indus Water Treaty in abeyance and constructs a dam,
10:40there will be war.
10:41Not the first time Bilaval Bhutto,
10:43of course,
10:44has made these kind of commences a habitual offender.
10:46And previously too,
10:47he's issued warning after warning over the Indus Water Treaty.
10:51Okay, let me bring in now Sandeep Unitan,
10:55for more really on what this kind of messaging really means for the world,
10:59and how it's not just India,
11:00but every country should be worried right now,
11:02and Aasem Munir talks about wiping out half of the world.
11:06Sandeep, how dangerous is this kind of nuclear sabre rattling?
11:10And I think the question everyone's asking is,
11:12why really is America even allowing all these kind of provocative comments
11:16to be made on their soil?
11:17Well, there's a correlation between Pakistan's nuclear weapons program
11:22and its relations with the United States.
11:24Now, each time Pakistan has been of utility to the United States,
11:29it has developed its nuclear weapons,
11:31and the US has chosen to look the other way.
11:34This happened in the 1970s,
11:36in the late 1970s,
11:37particularly when Pakistan was developing the bomb,
11:40and it was of assistance to the United States as a frontline state
11:44in the US's war on the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
11:48That continued for a decade.
11:49That's when Pakistan got its nuclear weapons.
11:52Now, cut to 2001 to 2021,
11:56the 20 years that it built up its arsenal of nuclear weapons.
12:00Once again, it was a frontline state in the so-called war against terror,
12:05where the United States needed Pakistan,
12:08they needed the bases,
12:09they needed the access of Pakistan into Afghanistan to fight the Taliban there.
12:14And the price for that appears to have been the US looking the other way
12:19when Pakistan developed its nuclear weapons.
12:21And now today, in 2025, once again,
12:24we see this prospect of Pakistan once again building up its relationship with the United States.
12:32The US and Pakistan's military have had excellent ties in the last couple of weeks and months.
12:39The Pakistani military chief has been dined by none other than President Donald Trump in the White House.
12:46And we see this very unprecedented statement made recently by Field Marshal Asim Munir on his visit to the United States,
12:55where he levelled nuclear threats at India from the soil of the United States.
13:01It's unprecedented.
13:02Truly.
13:03And you know, Sandeep also, when you look at the kind of comments that come in from Pakistan,
13:08honestly, nobody seems to understand why they make these comments and what really is with Pakistan's bravado.
13:14How nuclear-armed is Pakistan?
13:17They're talking about, you know, half of the world being wiped out here, Sandeep.
13:21Well, there are eight nuclear-armed countries in the world.
13:24And Pakistan's case is very unique in that it is the only country in the world
13:29where the military directly controls nuclear weapons.
13:33In seven countries, you have the political leadership that controls nuclear weapons.
13:38In Pakistan, it is the military that directly controls nuclear weapons.
13:43That would make Field Marshal Asim Munir the man with his finger on the nuclear button.
13:49That makes it a very dangerous situation indeed.
13:51Of course.
13:52Why is he doing it now?
13:53Why is he levelling these threats?
13:55Well, as it was said about Pakistan in the past, Pakistan is a country that threatens the rest of the world by putting a gun to its own head.
14:03And this seems to be the case with Field Marshal Asim Munir's recent speech as well, where he seems to be drawing attention to the nuclear weapons on the Indian subcontinent by trying to get the rest of the world involved in mediating between India and Pakistan.
14:21He is possibly trying to avert another Operation Sindhu where Pakistan's nuclear weapons did not deter India from carrying out the massive kind of airstrikes that they carried out on several air bases of Pakistan.
14:35The first time that India had done so since the 1971 war.
14:40An unprecedented situation and Pakistan desperately trying to avoid this possibly forestalling such a possibility in the future ensuring that its nuclear weapons and its non-state actors, these terrorists which it has reared for so many years are safe.
14:59All right. Sandeep, thanks very much for joining us with your perspective, really, of what's been playing out of these constant provocations made by Pakistan.
15:09What's shocking as much as the provocation that's coming from Pakistan is that there's been no condemnation from America, where Asam Munir actually made this statement.
15:18We have videos of Munir there in America when he was giving this talk and going ahead and issuing warnings to the world.
15:26And yet not one word that's coming from America questioning how Asam Munir could make these statements.
15:31And that really tells you it speaks volumes of what really the American leadership actually stands for right now.
15:37Let's get your details now of exactly what India has said in response to Pakistan's nuclear blackmail, which we've repeatedly called out.
15:46Even the prime minister has said that it will not work. This time there's been a detailed statement that's come in from the MEA, which says these rocks are reckless and dangerous.
15:56And that's why India has made it a point to call it out as well.
15:59Now, India has also said that what's shocking is that Pakistan is using friendly soil to go ahead and target us, that these threats are no longer emanating just from Pakistan.
16:09But the likes of Asam Munir are going to America, an ally of India, and then going ahead and resorting to this kind of nuke rhetoric repeatedly from American soil as well.
16:19But India is also recognizing that these are the same old tactics that Pakistan always resorts to, saying nuclear threat is part of Pakistan's old playbook.
16:28And we've shown you that instances of how many times that these were just a few of them that we've handpicked of Pakistan leaders, ministers, influencers are speaking about these kind of nuclear threats to India.
16:41India has also in its statement now said that Pakistani nukes risk falling into the hands of terrorists.
16:50And that's a worry that we've repeatedly asked the world to take note of.
16:54And MEA say very clearly that India will not bow to nuclear blackmail, that it simply won't work.
17:01India will protect its security at all costs.
17:04The Prime Minister has reiterated that very message, saying very clearly that there's no question of any nuclear blackmailing working.
17:10It will not serve as any sort of deterrent, that India will go ahead and put India first, that it will protect its security at all costs.
17:20And that's been reiterated again today by the Ministry of External Affairs.
17:24But let's talk about Asim Munir, who is in America in a matter of months.
17:29The last time around, he managed to get an audience with Donald Trump for a luncheon at the White House.
17:34This time invited for a general's retirement ceremony, again given a VVIP, you know, welcome in America.
17:42But Asim Munir himself has risen in Pakistan.
17:46And let's talk about that, particularly after Operation Sindur.
17:50He was even promoted despite the failures that Pakistan saw, despite all of the losses that they suffered.
17:57Now, there's still a lot of questions about whether he's going to have a bigger role in civilian affairs,
18:02because we all know that it is the Pakistan army that caused the shots in the country.
18:09Asim Munir is the country's first madrasa-educated Pakistani chief of army staff.
18:14He comes from a family of high-born Syed's who traced their ancestry directly to Prophet Muhammad,
18:20and who migrated to Pakistan in 1947.
18:23Munir was to retire in November 2025 after completing three years in the saddle.
18:28But in November 2024, he got Pakistan's parliament to pass a bill,
18:32extending the tenure of all service chiefs from three years to five years,
18:36removing that upper age limit for a four-star chief.
18:40Munir's current tenure will now end in 2027, after which he is still eligible for reappointment.
18:47So, it's no coincidence that Munir was the head of the notorious Pakistani spy agency, the ISI,
18:56when it orchestrated the vicious Pulwama terror attack that saw the deaths of 40 CRPF personnel,
19:02back on February 16, 2019.
19:05Six years on, Munir, now de facto supremo of Pakistan, is once again in India's crosshairs.
19:11He's popularly known as Jihadi General.
19:19It's not just India, but also Shaibar Sharif that must not underestimate Assam Munir.
19:24Those who have done so in the past have learnt their lesson the hard way.
19:27Among them was Imran Khan, who was Pakistan's prime minister,
19:30cleared Munir's appointment as ISI chief in 2018, only to sack him nine months later.
19:36Apparently, because Munir was bold enough to brief him about the alleged corrupt dealings of his wife, Bushra Bibi.
19:43Munir never forgave Imran for the humiliation of being possibly the shortest serving ISI chief.
19:49And bided his time to hit back.
19:51The opportunity came after Imran was deposed in an army-engineered parliamentary coup.
19:57This was in April 2022.
19:58And Munir, backed by a ruling coalition opposed to Imran, became the army chief that November.
20:04Months later, Assam Munir had Imran jailed on multiple charges of corruption.
20:09That saw the former prime minister sentenced to 14 years in prison.
20:17And now, the Shaibar Sharif government has made Assam Munir all-powerful.
20:22The elevation means that military supremacy supersedes civilian governance of Pakistan.
20:27Assam Munir now gets authority beyond future army chiefs.
20:31This would also mean that he has institutional immunity from scrutiny, accountability or even post-retirement prosecution.
20:39Which is why, essentially, he self-promoted himself.
20:42That's all we have time for in this edition of Newstruck.
20:46Thanks very much for tuning in.
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