Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, in a rather contentious comment, has dubbed Kashmir as the “jugular vein” of Islamabad, and said that Pakistan “won’t forget it”. The Pakistan Army chief was addressing the Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad on Wednesday, where he also said, ‘we are different from Hindus’, and defended the two-nation theory.
The convention of overseas Pakistanis was held when their remittances hit the record USD 4.1 billion mark in March, relieving pressure on the balance of payment.
On Kashmir
Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, has declared that Kashmir remains Pakistan’s “jugular vein”—a status, he asserted, that will endure, with Islamabad never relinquishing its claim or forgetting the region.
“Our stance is absolutely clear, it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein. We will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle,” General Munir said at the Convention for Overseas Pakistanis on Wednesday.
The dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan dates back to the 1947 Partition of British India, when the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was given the choice to join either country.
The Maharaja initially sought independence but acceded to India following an invasion by Pakistani tribal forces, sparking the first Indo-Pakistan war.
Since then, Kashmir has remained a flashpoint, with multiple wars, cease-fire agreements, and ongoing violence along the Line of Control.
On Two-Nation Theory
General Munir also staunchly defended the two-nation theory, the ideological foundation for the Partition of 1947, contending that India and Pakistan are fundamentally distinct nations in every respect.
“…Our forefathers thought we were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life,” Munir said.
“Our religion is different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different. That’s where the foundation of the two-nation theory was laid. We are two nations, we are not one nation,” Munir said.
He said that the country’s people must not forget that they belong to a ‘superior ideology and culture’.
Notably, the two-nation theory failed in 1971 when Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan.
On Balochistan
On Balochistan, Asim Munir said that Pakistan’s enemies were mistaken in thinking that a handful of terrorists could dictate the country’s destiny.
“We will beat the hell out of these terrorists very soon …you think, these 1500 terrorists belonging to BLA, BLF and BRA, etc, can take away Balochistan from us…” Munir asked.
“Do Pakistan’s enemies think that a handful of terrorists can decide the fate of Pakistan?…even ten generations of terrorists cannot harm Balochistan and Pakistan.”
He added that Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is vital to Pakistan’s future and a symbol of national pride.
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