(Tribune News Service) — Pakistan’s army chief accused India of continuing to fuel instability in the region and warned it was fully prepared to counter any aggression from New Delhi as tensions between the two rivals remain high following a four-day armed conflict in May.

Asim Munir, widely regarded as the most powerful figure in Pakistan, made the comments on Friday at a dinner with members of the Pakistani diaspora in Florida during his second visit to the U.S. in less than two months.

“India is still attempting to create instability in the region,” the army chief said, according to statements shared Sunday by Pakistani military officials. “Pakistan has made it clear that any Indian aggression will be met with a crushing response,” he said. Officials distributed the statements to reporters on the weekend, asking not to be identified to share sensitive matters.

The remarks are likely to fuel further tensions between the two South Asian nuclear-armed neighbors. It also comes against the backdrop of Pakistan forging closer ties with President Donald Trump in the months since the military clash, while India’s relations with the U.S. have plummeted.

Pakistani officials released details of Munir’s U.S. speech after Indian news website ThePrint reported contentious excerpts from his remarks. Pakistan’s military chief reportedly said that Pakistan would target any dam India builds on the Indus River with multiple missiles and warned of the threat of nuclear conflict, ThePrint reported on Sunday, citing unidentified participants at the event. Guests were told not to carry cellphones or other recording devices, it said.

In a statement on Monday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs accused Pakistan of a history of “nuclear sabre-rattling” and questioned the credibility of its nuclear command and control. The ministry also said that the remarks were made from a “friendly third country” and asserted that India would not succumb to “nuclear blackmail.”

India and Pakistan engaged in their worst clash in half a century in May, exchanging air, drone, and missile strikes, along with artillery and small arms fire along their shared border. The conflict was triggered by an April 22 attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where gunmen killed 26 civilians in what New Delhi described as a terrorist act orchestrated by Pakistan — an allegation Islamabad has denied.

Munir, who met with American military officials during his trip, again praised Trump for brokering a ceasefire with India after the brief conflict in May. Indian officials have consistently denied that the U.S. leader played such a role.

“Pakistan is deeply thankful to President Trump, whose strategic leadership not only averted a war between India and Pakistan but also helped stop many ongoing global conflicts,” Munir said on Friday, according to Pakistan’s military.

Also over the weekend, India’s air force chief said its military shot down at least five Pakistani fighter jets during the confrontation, offering latest insight into the damage wrought by the two nuclear-armed countries during the conflict. Pakistan denied any of the country’s aircraft had been hit.

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