Former U.S. Official Michael Rubin Challenges Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir and Opposes Donald Trump’s Stance on India
Former U.S. Official Michael Rubin Challenges Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir and Opposes Donald Trump’s Stance on India
The controversy surrounds comments allegedly made by Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir threatening that if Pakistan “goes down, it would take half the world down” with it.
Ex-US official Michael Rubin Pakistan army chief Asim Munir over his recent nuclear rhetoric. He accused Islamabad of behaving like “a rogue state” and being on the warpath. Michael Rubin compared Pakistan’s de facto military ruler with Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind of the 9/11 attack. Notably, he also said Asim Munir criticism comments were the same that the world has heard from the Islamic State.
The controversy centres on Field Marshal Asim Munir’s recent remarks threatening that if Pakistan “goes down, it would take half the world down” with it. According to reports, the comments were made at a meeting in Tampa, Florida in the presence of some US military officials.
Donald trump India stance has formally condemned Pakistan army chief Munir’s threat of a nuclear war. The Foreign Ministry said that nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade and it was unfortunate that such a statement was made from the soil of a friendly third country.
Rubin said a future US government may have to send special operations forces into Pakistan to protect its nuclear weapons. "We can't take the consequences of that as a given," he said. "We have to recognize the strategic level game being played here."
One of his key points was that Pakistan’s nuclear threats could give a false sense of security to terrorist elements that they could “go rogue” with nuclear weapons. He said Pakistan is a different challenge altogether than diplomatic spats.
"The US sees this largely in terms of grievance without seeing the ideological underpinnings," he added. "Asim Munir is the manifestation of a more institutionalized face of that."
Rubin also noted that Munir’s remarks are “raising in the minds of many” whether Pakistan can meet the requirements of being a state.
“The Field Marshal’s rhetoric is reminiscent of what we’ve heard from the Islamic State,” he stated.
Rubin has previously advocated what he called “managed decline” for Pakistan, which he suggested should include other countries recognizing Balochistan, a movement for an independent Balochistan within Pakistan.
