Pakistan’s Army Chief, Asim Munir‘s controversial remarks about the country’s rhetoric on nuclear readiness, has invited flak not only from India, but also from former Pentagon official Michael Rubin. He stated that Munir’s comments reminded him of Osama Bin Laden, but ‘in suit’.

Comparing his threats of violence to the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, Rubin drew a parallel between Pakistan’s intent and criminal bent, which drove Bin Laden. He added that Islamabad had gone rogue for promoting war and the threats that Munir made in the presence of US military officials.

” We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us,” Munir had said.

Completely unacceptable: US official slams Asim Munir

Rubin, in an interview with ANI, noted that Asim Munir’s “threats on American soil” were “completely unacceptable.” He pointed out Pakistan’s threats and questioned the very responsibilities of fulfilling its responsibilities as a state. He also called for diplomatic consequences with urgency, including stripping the country of its status as a major non-NATO ally and designating it as a state-sponsor for terrorism.

The former Pentagon analyst also expressed concern over the lack of immediate action from the US officials present at the time Munir made this comment. “He should have been ushered out…flown out of the United States,” remarked Rubin as a result of Asim Munir’s comments.

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Commenting on the iffy US-India relations, Rubin called out Trump’s bipartisan approach to global politics. He also explained the diplomatic instability at large and argued that Pakistan represented a fundamentally different challenge for traditional disputes. Rubin claimed that, “Americans look at terrorism through the lens of grievance.” He explained, “They don’t understand the ideological underpinnings of many terrorists,” before calling him the Osama Bin Laden in a suit.

Rubin also predicted Pakistan’s “managed decline”, indicating a breakaway from regions like Balochistan. The analyst raised speculations of a possible military intervention to secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal following comments from the military chief himself.

India retorts

Issuing a statement against this remark, India’s Foreign Ministry noted that the nuclear instigation from Pakistan was its stock-in-trade and expressed regret that such comments were made in a friendly third country. Despite a 50% tariff announced by Trump for India, higher than any other international trade partner.

The statement from the Ministry read that the global community can judge for itself the recklessness of such remarks, which further fuel long-standing concerns about the safety of nuclear command and control in a country where the military works closely with terrorist groups. It also reiterated New Delhi’s stance of refusing to yield to “nuclear blackmail” and pledged to take every necessary measure to protect national security.

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Michael Rubin also commented on the dynamic nature of global polity and how the US-India relations are likely to improve, “once the current administration’s approach changes”. He described the current Trump-Modi tensions as a “stress test” amid Trump’s tariff frenzy and extreme opposition to trade relations with Russia. Rubin himself noted that these tensions were not counterproductive and that the US itself purchases strategic material from Russia.