India has issued a strong rebuttal to Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir’s recent remarks on Kashmir, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that Pakistan has no legitimate claim over it. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a weekly press briefing on Thursday, hit back at Munir’s statements, calling them baseless and provocative.

“How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country,” Jaiswal stated, in response to the Pakistan Army chief's claim that Kashmir is Pakistan’s "jugular vein."

Pakistan Army Chief Evokes Two-Nation Theory

General Asim Munir made the controversial statement during the Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad. He reignited anti-India sentiment and emphasised the two-nation theory, claiming that Pakistanis are fundamentally different from Hindus in religion, customs, and goals.

“Our forefathers saw that we were different… that’s why we are two separate nations, not one,” Munir said. He urged families in Pakistan to educate their children about the country’s formation and praised the sacrifices made to establish Pakistan in 1947.

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Anti-Kashmir Stance Repeated

Doubling down on his position on Kashmir, Munir declared: “My stance on Kashmir is absolutely clear… it is our jugular vein… we will not forget it and we will not leave our Kashmiri brethren in their heroic struggle against Indian occupation.” These statements were made days after India strongly objected to Pakistan’s attempts to raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations. India reiterated that Kashmir is an internal matter and not open to international negotiation.

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