‘Extreme spiritual’: 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 figuring out them by their religion.” … 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 informed 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 stated.Just days earlier than the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan army chief Asim Munir, now promoted to area marshal, stoked tensions by invoking the two-nation principle, the ideological basis of Pakistan’s creation. He urged Pakistani residents to train their youngsters that they’re “different from Hindus” and referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein”.Jaishankar additionally defined 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 stated. “On May 10, it was the Pakistani Army that first sent a message expressing readiness to stop firing, and we responded accordingly,” Jaishankar stated.While Jaishankar acknowledged that a number of nations, together with the United States, reached out in the course of the disaster, he made it clear that the decision was solely bilateral, not mediated by any third celebration.“The US was in the United States,” he remarked when requested about President Donald Trump’s declare of brokering the current ceasefire between India and Pakistan.Jaishankar acknowledged that US secretary of state Rubio and vice chairman Vance had reached out in the course of the battle.“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 stated.He defined that such outreach is anticipated throughout moments of excessive stress between two nations.“When two nations are engaged in a conflict, it’s natural for others around the world to call, express concern, and offer help,” he stated.However, Jaishankar confused that the precise cessation of hostilities was negotiated immediately 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 got here shortly after Trump once more claimed credit score for ending the standoff, stating he had “settled it through trade”, a declare firmly rejected by the Indian authorities.