Islamabad, Apr 26 (UNI) Once again repeating its worn-out claim over the region of Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif called Kashmir the country’s "jugular vein", just days after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 tourists were killed.
In a video captured on X (formerly Twitter), the Pakistan premier was seen addressing a crowd at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Abbottabad. “I also need to underscore the importance of Kashmir. As the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah rightly said, Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan.”
He went on to spout Islamabad’s usual worn out rhetoric of India’s "persecution of Kashmiris", and its so-called illegal occupation of the region.
“Let there be no doubt, Pakistan shall continue to support the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people until they achieve their rights through their great struggle and sacrifices,” Sharif added.
Sharif’s speech was a follow-up to the earlier hate speech against India given by Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, in which he called Kashmir Pakistan’s "jugular vein", and actively gave full support to the Two-Nation theory, (which was already proven false after the secession of Bangladesh in 1971) saying that "Hindus and Muslims" are two very different people, with different identities who cannot co-exist, repeating the basis of the theory which led to Partition of India in 1947.
The Pahalgam terror attack took place a few days after Asif Munir's speech.
Pakistan has falsely claimed Jammu & Kashmir to be a part of its territory since its very creation in 1947, and occupied a part of it illegally in its first war with India after being defeated by the Indian Army.
Since then, it launched two more wars in 1965 and 1999 against India to claim Jammu & Kashmir, both of which led to it suffering massive military and financial losses, along with numerous failed skirmishes.
The Pahalgam terror attack was met with strong retaliatory moves by India, which included the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, declaring Pakistani military advisors to its High Commission in New Delhi persona non grata and expelling them, recalling its own military advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, expelling all Pakistani nationals except for diplomatic staff within 48 hours, and thinning its diplomatic mission.
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