New Delhi : Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir’s “won’t forget it” warning on Jammu and Kashmir drew a sharp reaction from India, with New Delhi on Thursday stating that the Union Territory is an integral part of the country, while urging Pakistan to hand over the “illegally occupied territories,” referring to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
Addressing Pakistanis abroad, Munir had earlier reiterated his country’s longstanding claim on Jammu and Kashmir, while defending the two-nation theory that led to the birth of Pakistan in 1947. “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.
“Our forefathers believed that we were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life. Our religion is different. Our customs are different. Our traditions are different. Our thoughts are different. General Munir had made the comments earlier while addressing a gathering of overseas Pakistanis earlier this week. Referring to Kashmir, he said the region had been, and would continue to be, Pakistan’s jugular vein, and that the country would never abandon its support for the people of Kashmir.
The army chief urged the Pakistani diaspora to share this version of history with their children, positioning them as cultural ambassadors of Pakistan and reinforcing a sense of belonging to a “superior ideology and culture.” His remarks, coming at a time of growing regional tension and domestic challenges for Pakistan, underlined the military’s continued influence in shaping the country’s political narrative.
