‘Must be an embarrassment’: Defence secretary’s jibe at Shahbaz Sharif over Trump-Munir lunch; warns of China-Turkey nexus | India News
NEW DELHI: In a sharp assessment of regional military dynamics, India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Friday expressed surprise over US President Donald Trump‘s recent lunch meeting with Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, calling it “an embarrassment” for a country where the military overshadows the civilian government.“It is surprising. It must be an embarrassment to any country that the military chief gets invited and the prime minister is nowhere to be seen,” Singh said.“It’s a very strange thing… It’s a weird, structurally imbalanced state where the military essentially has first claim on resources.”His remarks come amid growing global scrutiny of Pakistan’s internal power dynamics and its military’s central role in foreign policy.On India’s recently concluded Operation Sindoor, Singh revealed that the Pakistani military faced “manifold” losses in terms of both men and material compared to India.“In terms of both assets, material and casualties, the losses on their side are manifold, anything that we have suffered,” he said.Singh also commented on speculation about Chinese support to Pakistan during the operation. While ruling out direct involvement, he hinted at indirect assistance.“Collusion in terms of equipment, supplies, helping them out in various ways, perhaps with satellite imagery as well — all that could have happened, but definitely they did not take any active role,” Singh said.“Trust is low… Pakistanis don’t have many resources, so they will do all this begging, borrowing, etc., to get equipment from wherever they can, whether it is Turkey or China. So we should be aware of that nexus and take appropriate steps.”
