Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir invokes two-nation theory at diaspora event

Islamabad: Army Chief General Asim Munir described Kashmir as Pakistan's "jugular vein" during a diaspora event, where he asked overseas Pakistanis to pass on the country's story to their children, emphasising that their forefathers believed Hindus and Muslims were different in every possible aspect of life.

"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," Gen Munir said while addressing the first Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad on Tuesday, attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, senior ministers and Pakistanis living abroad.

India has repeatedly told Pakistan that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh "was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country.

The ties between the two countries nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

In the same address, the powerful general urged the diaspora to preserve the values and vision for which Pakistan was created and share its story with their children.

"You have to tell Pakistan's story to your children so that they don’t forget that our forefathers thought we were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life," he said, evoking the two-nation theory propagated by Pakistan's founder M A Jinnah.

"Our religions are different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different. That was the foundation of the two-nation theory that was laid there. We are two nations, we are not one nation," he added.

The general tried to present the case of a country that had a great past and a promising future.

“No matter where you live, remember - your roots lie in a high civilisation, noble ideology, and proud identity,” he said. “We have never bowed down before adversity, and we never will.”