It’s that time of the year again. Somewhere in Rawalpindi, a speechwriter dusts off the same script used by generations of khaki demagogues, changes the date, replaces a few commas, and hands it to self-appointed Field Marshal Asim Munir.
And the Pakistan Army Chief once again steps up to a podium—flanked by flags, frowns, and fawning officers—and reminds the world that Kashmir is Pakistan’s “jugular vein.”
Clearly, Mullah Munir also seems to have conveniently forgotten that it was his own military that sued for peace after India’s Operation Sindoor flattened multiple terror camps and several Pakistani airfields in May.
The only ‘swift and resolute’ response Rawalpindi managed then was a round of failed drone strikes, diplomatic grovelling and hilariously, the reopening of the Jaish-e-Mohammed swimming pool in Bahawalpur—as if chlorine and jihad were Pakistan’s new pillars of resilience.
This week, Mullah Munir not only resurrected the undead ghost of “Kashmir banega Pakistan,” but also managed to glorify terrorism as a “legitimate struggle” while hilariously branding his country as a “net regional stabiliser.”
Yes, the country that houses 80 per cent of the world’s certified terrorists, according to data from its own neighbours and former allies, now wants a gold star for stabilising the region—presumably the way a lit match stabilises a petrol station.
Munir’s speech—delivered in his usual monotone of menace and martyrdom—warned India of “swift, resolute and overwhelming response” to any military provocation.
Which is rich coming from a man whose army couldn’t hold on to Kargil, has lost every conventional war with India, and currently runs a country that survives on IMF lifelines, Chinese debt, and Emirati pity.
But back to the Kashmir dog whistle. Munir called it Pakistan’s “jugular vein,” which is quite apt, considering how Pakistan has repeatedly tried to choke India by bleeding it with a thousand cuts—each one carefully administered by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists.
And now, with the economy in shambles, Balochistan on fire, and the TTP turning its guns inward, the good general hopes another rhetorical foray into Kashmir will distract a restless public.
Munir also invoked the United Nations resolutions, with the kind of selective amnesia that’s become the hallmark of Pakistan’s diplomacy.
Let’s clarify a few inconvenient truths:
- UN Resolution 47—that famous fig leaf waved by Pakistan in every forum—first required Pakistan to withdraw its forces and irregulars from Jammu and Kashmir. That never happened. So if anyone invalidated the resolution, it was Pakistan.
- Changed ground realities: The Simla Agreement of 1972, signed by both nations, turned Kashmir into a bilateral issue, rendering earlier UN interventions moot. If Islamabad still wants to drag the world back to 1948, should we also discuss Pakistan’s still-unratified status as a state that supports jihadists in suits?
- India’s sovereignty: Let’s not forget, Jammu and Kashmir acceded legally to India in 1947. It is not some UN-administered twilight zone; it’s part of India’s constitutional, legal, and territorial framework.
- Self-determination farce: During the decolonisation era, the UN recognised self-determination within the context of colonial rule. Kashmir doesn’t qualify. It acceded to India through a legal instrument. If Pakistan wants to talk self-determination, maybe it can start with the Baloch, the Sindhis, the Pashtuns—and while at it, ask China when it plans to give the Uighurs a vote.
But here’s the most galling irony: while Munir sermonises about human rights in Kashmir, Pakistan is busy releasing convicted Islamist terrorists, jailing dissenters, disappearing journalists, and hanging onto a blasphemy law that would make the Spanish Inquisition blush. The Ahmadiyas can’t pray in peace. Christians live in fear. Hindus have vanished. And Shias are gunned down for praying at the wrong time.
Pakistan’s military elite—now basically a real estate cartel with missiles—has turned Kashmir into a political opiate to maintain its grip on power. The generals fund madrassas, train proxies, and then pretend to be victims of the very monsters they breed. It’s a playbook that’s now more tattered than Pakistan’s IMF commitments.
So when General Asim Munir threatens “swift and overwhelming” retaliation, one must ask: with what, General? Your borrowed jets parked on airfields already degraded by the recent Indian strikes? Your frozen forex reserves, or your elite commandos moonlighting as mall security?
If Pakistan wants peace, it should start by ending terrorism. If it wants credibility, it should try democracy.
As for Kashmir, the only issue pending resolution is the return of the part illegally occupied by Pakistan to India.
