New Delhi : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has linked Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s “extreme religious outlook” to the attack in Pahalgam a month ago, where Lashkar terrorists killed 25 tourists on the basis of their religion. Jaishankar said the attack in Pahalgam was a “barbaric” act aimed at crippling tourism in Kashmir and inciting religious discord.
“Twenty-six people were murdered in front of their families after ascertaining their faith. It was done in a way intended to harm tourism, which is the mainstay of the Kashmir economy,” Jaishankar said. The minister said, “To understand that, you have to see that on the Pakistani side, especially their Army chief, who is driven by an extreme religious outlook. There is clearly some connection between the views that were expressed and the manner the attack was carried out.”
Munir, who has been promoted as Field Marshal, provoked India by raking up the two-nation theory – the ideological basis for Pakistan’s creation – and called on Pakistani citizens to teach their children that they are “different from Hindus”. He also called the Kashmir issue Pakistan’s “jugular vein”.
