S Jaishankar highlights link between Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir’s poisonous rhetoric and Pahalgam terror attack, says ‘extreme religious outlook’ the common thread

According to Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, the terrorists who murdered tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22nd April were inspired by Pakistan’s Army Chief Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah’s “extreme religious outlook.” He called the deadly incident, which claimed the lives of 26 people, a “barbaric” act intended to undermine tourism and sow religious strife.

The terrorists, two of whom are believed to be Pakistanis and one local, executed Hindu men at close range after determining their religion. Jaishankar shared that the conflict between India and Pakistan was initiated by the Pahalgam attack.

“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, and to create a religious discord,” Indian External Affairs Minister highlighted while talking to Dutch broadcaster, NOS.

Dr S Jaishankar subsequently outlined the ideological link between the Pakistani army and the terrorists behind the terror attack. “Deliberately, an element of religion was introduced and to understand that you’ve got to see that on the Pakistani side, you have Pakistani leadership, especially the army chief, who’s very driven by an extreme religious outlook. There is clearly some connect between the views that were expressed and the manner the attack was carried out,” Jaishankar stated.

The External Affairs Minister emphasized that The Resistance Front, a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba that claimed responsibility for the attack, was already reported to the United Nations by India many years ago.

“The TRF took responsibility for the attack. It has been on our radar for a number of years. Well before the 22nd April attack, we had drawn the attention of the United Nations and the global community to this outfit. We know the command centres and those areas we targeted,” the EAM mentioned.

He also reaffirmed that the truce was negotiated only between New Delhi and Islamabad, amid expressions of concern from other nations, including the United States. “It was the Pakistani army which sent a message that they were ready to stop firing, and we responded accordingly,” Jaishankar reiterated.

“We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States but to everyone, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their General has to call up our General and say this and that is what happened,” he noted.

On 7th May, India initiated “Operation Sindoor” in response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and the union minister underscored that the action will persist. “The operation continues because there is a clear message in that operation, that if there are acts of the kind we saw on 22nd April, there will be a response, that we will hit the terrorists,” he warned.

The EAM further added, “If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are. So, there is a message in continuing the operation but continuing the operation is not the same as firing on each other. Right now, there is an agreed cessation of fighting and military action.” Dr Jaishankar also shared that New Delhi has identified the terrorists responsible for the attack.

India demolished terror infrastructure at nine locations linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on the intervening night of May 6-May 7. The action killed at least 100 terrorists, including family members of JeM founder Muhammad Masood Azhar Alvi. Afterwards, fighter jets, AWACS and multiple key airbases of the Islamic Republic were destroyed by India when the former tried to target civilian areas, temples and gurdwaras in the border states of India, especially Jammu and Kashmir.

Asim Munir, who was promoted to the position of Field Marshal after claiming victory despite being humiliated by Indian armed forces, provoked India over the Kashmir dispute on 16th April, a few days before the attack, referring to it as Pakistan’s “jugular vein.” Additionally, he asked Pakistanis to teach their children that they are “different from Hindus” and supported the two-nation theory.

Jaishankar is undertaking a six-day tour of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, during which he will emphasize Pakistan’s relentless support for cross-border terrorism in a desperate attempt to “bleed India by a thousand cuts.” He also held a meeting with his Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen in Copenhagen and conveyed his gratitude for Denmark’s robust solidarity and support in the fight against terrorism.

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