TAMPA, Florida — In a rare and provocative address at a private dinner in Tampa, Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir threatened to target India’s critical economic and water infrastructure in any future conflict, singling out Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat — the world’s largest single-site refining complex.
According to eyewitness accounts cited by media reports, Munir told about 120 members of the Pakistani diaspora that he had personally authorized a social media post pairing a Quranic verse with Ambani’s photo during recent hostilities, as a warning of what Pakistan “will do the next time.”
He also issued a stark warning over the Indus Waters Treaty, vowing missile strikes on Indian dams if the accord remains suspended. “We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, phir 10 missile sey faarigh kar dengey [we will destroy it with 10 missiles],” he declared.
The closed-door black-tie event, hosted by Pakistan’s honorary consul, banned all digital devices and had no official transcript, but multiple attendees have recounted details to the press. Munir’s US visit coincided with the retirement ceremony of US CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Kurilla, who praised Pakistan’s counterterrorism partnership and received the country’s highest civilian honour.
Blending nationalism with populist rhetoric, Munir urged overseas Pakistanis to back the nation, invoked sentimental comparisons to “mother and motherland,” and touted Pakistan’s “divinely blessed” resource wealth. He also claimed Islamabad’s diplomatic edge lay in balancing rival powers and “openly appreciating those who do good,” citing Donald Trump’s Nobel Prize nomination as an example. (Agencies)
