Days after Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan PM Sharif parrots Army chief Asim Munir's 'jugular vein' remark

Days after the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif echoed Army Chief Asim Munir’s remark that Kashmir is Islamabad’s “jugular vein.”

“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,” Sharif said at a military event in Abbottabad.

He repeated the country’s traditional stance on Kashmir, a part of which the Islamic nation illegally occupied during the 1947 war. Pakistan has long history of supporting terrorists and terror groups that kill innocent people in the name of the so-called freedom of Kashmir.

He stated that this globally recognised dispute remains unresolved despite multiple UN resolutions.

“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 said.

Pak PM repeats Army Chief’s ‘jugular vein’ remarks

Earlier, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir had said Kashmir is Islamabad’s “jugular vein” and will remain so, adding that Pakistan “won’t forget it”.

He also defended the two-nation theory that was the basis for the Partition in 1947 in his hate speech against Hindus.

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Pak is open to ’neutral investigation’: Sharif

Amid massive outrage in India and abroad, Sharif said that Islamabad is ready for a “neutral investigation” into the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 innocent people mostly tourists.

“Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Sharif said.

Sharif’s comments follow a statement by Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who told the New York Times that Islamabad is “ready to cooperate” with any investigation by international inspectors.  Pakistan PM was speaking at a ceremony at military academy in Abbottabad.

Twenty-six innocent people, mostly tourists, were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday, sparking anger across India and internationally.

India linked the attack to Pakistan, after the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba offshoot, The Resistance Front, claimed responsibility.

In response, India took tough steps —expelling Pakistani military officials, suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, and shutting the Attari land border.

In response, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian airlines, stopping all trade with India, and rejecting the water treaty suspension, warning that any move to block water would be seen as an “act of war."