‘Extreme religious’: Jaishankar exposes army chief Asim Munir’s outlook leading to Pahalgam terror attack | India News

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar pointed to the “extreme religious outlook” of Pakistan army chief Asim Munir that influenced the Pahalgam terrorists who killed 26 civilians on April 22 after identifying them by their faith.” … It was triggered by a very barbaric terrorist attack in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir where 26 tourists were murdered in front of their families after ascertaining their faith. And it was done in a way in which it was intended to harm tourism, which is the mainstay of the Kashmir economy and to create a religious discord deliberately, an element of religion was introduced,” Jaishankar told Dutch broadcaster NOS.“And to understand that, you’ve got to also see that on the Pakistani side, you have a Pakistani leadership, especially the army chief, who’s very driven by extreme religious outlook. So there is clearly some connect between, you know, the views that were expressed and the behavior that was done,” he said.Just days before the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan army chief Asim Munir, now promoted to field marshal, stoked tensions by invoking the two-nation theory, the ideological foundation of Pakistan’s creation. He urged Pakistani citizens to teach their children that they are “different from Hindus” and referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein”.Jaishankar also explained how the de-escalation unfolded following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians and prompted India’s Operation Sindoor.“Yes, we have a mechanism to talk to each other – a hotline,” he said. “On May 10, it was the Pakistani Army that first sent a message expressing readiness to stop firing, and we responded accordingly,” Jaishankar said.While Jaishankar acknowledged that several countries, including the United States, reached out during the crisis, he made it clear that the resolution was entirely bilateral, not mediated by any third party.“The US was in the United States,” he remarked when asked about President Donald Trump’s claim of brokering the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan.Jaishankar acknowledged that US secretary of state Rubio and vice president Vance had reached out during the conflict.“Rubio spoke with me, and Vance spoke with our Prime Minister. They shared their views, and they were in communication with both us and the Pakistani side — as were some Gulf nations and other countries,” he said.He explained that such outreach is expected during moments of high tension between two countries.“When two nations are engaged in a conflict, it’s natural for others around the world to call, express concern, and offer help,” he said.However, Jaishankar stressed that the actual cessation of hostilities was negotiated directly between India and Pakistan.“We made one thing very clear to everyone, not just the United States, that if Pakistan wanted to stop the firing, we needed to hear it directly from them. Their general had to call our general and make that clear. And that’s exactly what happened.”His remarks came shortly after Trump again claimed credit for ending the standoff, stating he had “settled it through trade”, a claim firmly rejected by the Indian government.