India slams Pakistan army chief’s remarks on Kashmir as ‘Jugular Vein’

New Delhi, Apr 17: New Delhi on Thursday dismissed Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir’s recent remarks describing Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein,” reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

Responding to a media query during a press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a Union Territory of India. Its only relation with Pakistan is that Pakistan must vacate the territories it has illegally occupied.”

His comments came in response to General Munir’s speech at the first Overseas Pakistanis Convention held in Islamabad on Tuesday as reported by PTI. Addressing the diaspora, General Munir reportedly urged overseas Pakistanis to pass on Pakistan’s narrative to the next generation, stating that their forefathers believed Hindus and Muslims were fundamentally different. “Our stance is very clear: it was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, and we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle,” General Munir said at the event, which was also attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, senior ministers, and Pakistani expatriates.

India has consistently maintained that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh “were, are, and shall forever remain” an integral part of the country. New Delhi has also repeatedly called on Islamabad to vacate Pakistan-occupied territories and cease support for cross-border terrorism.