How big is the threat from Pakistan's nukes? Munir's remarks raise alarm

Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal—estimated at around 170 warheads—continues to pose multiple risks, including proliferation and threat of these weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.

Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s ‘Armageddon-like ‘nuclear sabre-rattling’ during his visit to the US on Saturday has mainstreamed a threat that was often used by fringe elements.

Sources pointed out that it is Munir who holds the nuclear button, not the elected government in the neighbouring country.

Speaking at an event in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, hosted by a Pakistani national, Munir made an alarming statement: “We are a nuclear nation. If we go down, we’ll take half the world with us.”

It has shown Pakistan to be an irresponsible nuclear-armed state, with a real danger that these weapons could fall into the hands of non-state actors.

Maj Gen Ashok Kumar (retd), Director General of the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS)—a strategic think-tank—warns that “after the humiliating loss in the recent skirmish with India, an unreasonable action from Pakistan cannot be ruled out.”

Sources in India said the statement by Pakistan army chief is part of a recurring pattern—whenever the US offers support, the Pakistan military resorts to brinkmanship. The warm reception Munir received in the US, twice within two months, has only emboldened him further.

Dinakar Peri, fellow in security studies at Carnegie India, argues, “The international community has given way too much latitude to Pakistan. It’s time it takes a serious note of the remarks which are suicidal”.

Sources also emphasise that the US must hold Pakistan accountable for allowing such irresponsible and provocative comments to be made from its soil.

“India should lobby to get Pakistan treated at par with Iran, given its irresponsible conduct akin to a rogue nation,” Maj Gen Ashok Kumar added.

According to the International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM), Pakistan possesses the world’s sixth-largest nuclear arsenal and is believed to be expanding it. The IPFM estimates Pakistan’s accumulated stockpile at approximately 0.58 tonnes of plutonium and 5.3 tonnes of highly enriched uranium.

The Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in its June report ‘annual assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament and international security’, states that Pakistan continues to develop new delivery systems and accumulate fissile material. The report estimates Pakistan’s nuclear warhead count at 170, compared to India’s 180.

Meanwhile, sources say India remains deeply concerned about Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation record, which was exposed when A Q Khan shared nuclear technology with Libya, Iran, and North Korea.

India views Munir’s statement as a signal that more terrorist attacks could be launched under the cover of Pakistan’s missile and nuclear capabilities.

Dinakar Peri adds, “Pakistan has resorted to nuclear blackmail for a very long time. The latest comments by Field Marshal Asim Munir mark a new low and are both abrasive and irresponsible.”