Why Did The Pak Army Chief Make Such Virulent Religious Statements?

Recently Gen Asim Munir, the Pak Army Chief made a few virulant, divisive and damaging religious statements concerning Hindus and Muslims. On April 17, 2025, he made these statements at a 'Convention of Overseas Pakistanis' in Islamabad, followed by reiterating the same at Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul in Abbottabad, poisoning the young minds of the future officer cadre. He also highlighted the importance of religion-based two-nation theory, enunciated by Jinnah. Since that was an eight-decade old, outdated and failed concept, which in any case has no relevance today, where was the need to dig up the old graves? But what is more important was the fact, that within less than a week after his hate-filled provocative speech, he orchestrated the Pahalgam massacre on April 22.

It is not that he doesn't know the ground reality. He knows everything, and knows it too well. But he is a follower of Mohammad Ali Jinnah's ideology; a die-hard religious fanatic, and a staunch Hindu-hater. Incidentally, he is not the only one; majority of the Pak Army Generals, Pak politicians, Pak-based militant groups and the fanatic lot of the Pak population, are a product of the same ideology. Moreover, the Pakistani Generals are still suffering from the unbearable pain of the humiliating defeat of 1971 war. That is their Achilles heel, which troubles them 24x7.

Now let's recollect what Mohammad Ali Jinnah had told Lord Mountbatten prior to Partition, "The Muslims of lndia, were a nation with distinct civilization, language and literature, art and artitechture, laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and traditions. India has never been a true nation. lt looks that way only on the map. The only thing the Muslim has in common with the Hindu is his slavery to the British." And that exactly, was the essence of Gen Asim Munir's speech.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah was suffering from TB, an incurable disease those days, which he kept as a closely guarded secret, lest the decision of partition was postponed, as his count down had begun. He had been living for three years on 'will power, whiskey and cigarettes'. Jinnah, the only obstacle between Lord Mountbatten, the Viceroy of India, and lndian unity was under a death sentence.

Gandhi urged Jinnah not to insist on Pakistan, and told Nehru and Patel, "Give Jinnah all lndia instead of just a part he wanted. Give the Muslims the baby instead of cutting it in half." But he could not budge Nehru and Patel. There was a limit to the price they were prepared to pay to keep lndia united by handing over power to their foe, Jinnah. They did not share Gandhi's conviction that partition would invariably lead to terrible violence. As per Lord Mountbatten, Gandhi was the only leader who had appreciated the horrors of bloodbath that were to take place during partition, and that was all the more reason, why he opposed partition tooth and nail. Broken-hearted, Gandhi reported to the Viceroy that he had not been able to carry his colleagues with him. Lord Mountbatten later revealed that an echo of his distant anguish still haunted his voice.

Lord Mountbatten said, "l did not realize how utterly impossible my task in lndia was going to be until l met Jinnah for the first time." Mountbatten was ready to grasp at any straw to avoid Partition but Nehru and Patel refused to bend down and place 300 million Hindus under Muslim rule of their rival, by asking Jinnah and his minority Muslim League to form a government.

At that time, Jinnah's burning ambition was either to grab the opportunity of becoming the Prime Minister of India, by arm-twisting and blackmailing Nehru and Patel on the issue of partition, in spite of the Muslim League being in absolute minority, or alternatively, to create a separate nation and become its head. Unfortunately, the foundation of Pakistan was based on the bloodbath of two million people, and 15 million displaced, not to forget the Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) during which Jinnah organized the massacre of Hindus of Calcutta, through Huseyn Suhrawardy, which continued for a week and spread over to Noakhali and other parts of Bengal and Bihar. However, having succeeded in creating Pakistan, he set out on a dangerous path of invading his neighbouring states, aimed at territorial expansion. Accordingly he attacked the independent state of J&K in October 1947, which immediately joined India to defend itself. However, Jinnah succeeded in annexing POK by the end of 1948. Similarly the independent state of Kalat was attacked in March 1948, annexed to Pakistan, and renamed - Baluchistan.

The very foundation and existence of Pakistan is based on religious fanaticism, opportunism, merciless, horrendous and catastrophic bloodbath, and forceful occupation of territory of her neighbouring states; the only justification being nothing more than a common religion. Now Pakistan having become a renowned rogue state, the very survival of any government there depends on using religion as a weapon. India-hating has been its theme since partition, and to keep the Muslims of India on their side, the emphasis is laid on Hindu-hating. This helps Pakistan to create a rift between the Hindus and Muslims of lndia, which suits it very well. It is a well orchestrated plan to encourage, deepen, and widen the rift on religious lines. That is why the Pahalgam killings were specifically aimed at highlighting Hindu-hatred, with a view to divide the public of J&K in particular, and the rest of India in general, on religious lines. Pakistan has always misused religion to unite itself and divide India. Hence we need to be extra-cautious of falling into the dangerous trap laid by Pakistan. If we fall for it, we would unrealizingly help Pakistan to succeed in its nefarious designs. Hence we need to control our emotions on this account at least, and promote Hindu-Muslim unity.

Gen Asim Munir got his early religious education in a traditional Islamic seminary in Rawalpindi, the Markazi Madrasah Dar-ul-Tajweed, from where the seeds of religious indoctrination were initially sown. But he is not an exception either, since all Pak Generals have been brought up in a similar environment. The Pulwama attack on February 14, 2019, was orchestrated by Gen Munir, when he was the Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan. Having held this appointment, he specializes in the field of ruthlessly orchestrating mass murders in India.

Mountbatten observed, "lt wasn't that Jinnah didn't see the point. He was an evil genius and a psychopathic case, hell bent on Pakistan." The same is applicable to Gen Munir. He too sees everything clearly, but like his predecessors, is hell-bent on destroying India, through Pak Army's well orchestrated strategy of 'bleeding India through thousand cuts', a strategy that was formulated during late 1980s. The first step of this strategy implies physically bleeding India, by causing blood-shed through incidents like Chattisinhpura massacre (2000), the Parliament attack (2001), Kaluchak attack (2002), Mumbai massacre (2008), Uri attack (2016), Pulwama attack (2019), and Pahalgam massacre (2025), each a shocking act of violence, only to divide, destabilize and demoralize India. In fact, it is a diversionary tactic of uniting the public of Pakistan by diverting its attention from the plethora of problems it is facing. And more importantly, to avenge the humiliation of 1971 defeat, by keeping the issue of Kashmir alive.

Unfortunately, the complete inaction by Dr Manmohan Singh government after the Mumbai massacre in 2008, raised the morale of Pakistan Generals, political leaders and terrorist outfits. Mr Digvijay Singh tried to prove it as an act of Hindu terrorism, by openly announcing it, followed by releasing a book written by Mr Aziz Burney, a Pakistani author, titled - 'RSS ki Sazish - 26/11". It was released by Mr Digvijay Singh, both in Delhi as well as in Mumbai. And to highlight the issue, Mr Aziz Burney was honoured by Dr Manmohan Singh. And the worst was yet to come; Dr Manmohan Singh government did not take any retaliatory action against Pakistan; not even a symbolic one, to avoid displeasing his party's Muslim vote-bank. While the reasons for his limitations are well known, this proved to be a morale boosting factor for Pakistan, and it was shamefully shocking that Dr Manmohan Singh government tried its level best to cover up the Mumbai massacre, by trying to prove that Pakistan had no role in it, and Kasab was a Hindu terrorist. No wonder, Pakistan has left no stone unturned to destabilize Modi government, which unlike Dr Manmohan Singh government, believes in retaliating in an appropriate manner.

The Pak strategy of 'bleeding India through thousand cuts', is not restricted only to mass murders of Indians, but also involves destroying India in every manner, by dividing the public on religious lines, encouraging secession of states like J&K and Punjab, creating and fuelling insurgencies, destabilizing India's economy by pushing in fake currency, creating sleeper cells, and keeping the issue of Kashmir alive by orchestrating a series of bloody incidents like Chattisinhpura, Uri, Pulwama and Pahalgam, from time to time.

Since the eruption of Pak-sponsored militancy in J&K in 1990, the Kashmiri separatist leaders tried of make J&K a part of Pakistan, after affecting ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Sikhs from Kashmir valley. However, the Muslims of Baluchistan have been struggling for their independence since 1948. Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) is their militant wing, which wants to liberate it from Pakistan.

Now Pakistan is facing an existential threat. Khaibar Pakhtunwa province is perpetuallly involved in militancy since long, Baluchitan is fighting for its independence, and the demand for separation of POK keeps coming up from time to time. Financially, Pakistan is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the public of Pakistan is facing the brunt of unsurpassed inflation. Interestingly, the general public of Pakistan has been appreciative of India's progress under the Modi government in every field, and it has been cursing its own government for ruining its economy and creating an image of it being a rogue state. The public needs food, water, electricity, education, medical care, employment, and a decent life, much more than the manufactured hatred for India, based on religious grounds. Afterall, how long can it survive on hatred of the Hindus of Hindustan? And imagine the condition of the Hindu citizens of Pakistan.

Hence to divert the attention of Pak public from the real problems it is facing, Gen Asim Munir has fired a salvo through Pahalgam massacre, to unite the Pak public against India, and divide the Indian public on religious lines. And if India retaliates, it will help unite the Pak public all the more. His aim is to kill two birds with one stone. It is a salvo fired in desperation, that in case Modi carries out some retaliatory action, as he did after Uri and Pulwama attacks, Gen Munir Asim would be able to handle it effectively by already having taken precautionary measures well in advance. This time Pakistan was well prepared to counter India's surprise element. However, what Gen Munir didn't realize was, that the retaliation this time could be different in nature, and far more stronger.

The diplomatic measures announced by India, and the retaliatory measures announced by Pakistan are nothing more than symbolic gestures. These will not have the desired effect on Pakistan; not even one percent. Even the impact of holding Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, would be negligible in the foreseeable future, since India has not yet built adequate infrastructure to store water, to prevent it flowing into Pakistan, to make a drastic difference. Pakistan’s violent reaction to this announcement is based only on the fear of its long-term ramifications. Hence presently, Gen Munir has all the reasons to feel safe and sound. But when Modi announced a tougher action for this dastardly act, to teach the perpetrators of this heinous crime an appropriate lesson, Gen Munir and a few others have already dispatched their families to some foreign countries. The ethos generally practised by the Pak Army Generals including a few ministers, are based on the credo : "Your own safety, welfare and comfort come first, always and every time." This is an open secret.

Unfortunately, the strong worded warning by Modi has created a high degree of suspense. What exactly he would do, no one knows. But both India and Pakistan are anxiously waiting for some kind of kinetic retaliatory action. While both the neighbours are in a utter state of suspense, Modi is left with no choice but to live upto the expectations of the Indian public to pacify its highly charged emotions, by teaching Pakistan a lesson in the language it understands. If he fails to do so, he will lose the image, he has so painstakingly built since 2014. Hence Modi has to act in a decisive manner as expected of him, so that the public of India gets convinced that it has a strong, capable, daring and decisive leader, up to whom it can look up to, with unflinching faith and unshakable pride.

If he takes a bold decision, the entire nation will stand by him, and even the opposition will have no choice but to support him, because the punishment for opposing him could be devastating. Moreover, it will make Pakistan realize, the cost of its mischief being disproportionately heavy. In fact, that is the only kind of action which can make Pakistan behave, or else it will keep indulging in such mischiefs time and again, and end up having the last laugh, every time.

While the levers have already been locked, the plans have to be discussed with the Defence Minister, National Security Advisor, Chief of Defence Staff, the three Service Chiefs, and adequate preparations have to be made. Moreover, the international support of the nations that matter, has to be gathered. It can't possibly be a hurried knee-jerk reaction in isolation, nor is an all out war a desirable option. Though the public does understand these constraints, yet the nation expects the Prime Minister to punish Pakistan in such a convincing manner, that it has to think a thousand times before embarking upon inflicting another wound as a part of its strategy of bleeding India through thousand cuts. Nothing short of such an action can make Pakistan behave, nor pacify the highly charged public emotions of the Indians.

Well, while the public has a right to expect, it is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to decide, since he is the one who knows what is the best course of action in the given circumstances. Hence the public shall also honour the decision of the Prime Minister, because it has full faith in him, that his decision, whatever it is, would be in the best interest of the nation.