Until recently, Pakistan’s most powerful man preferred to stay behind the scenes, tightly controlling his public profile and limiting his pronouncements mostly to choreographed addresses at set-piece military events. However, after the deadly terrorist attack nearly two weeks ago in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, General Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, has emerged at the forefront of the deteriorating relationship between Pakistan and India.
As pressure builds in India for a robust response to the attack, which resulted in the deaths of more than two dozen Hindu tourists near the town of Pahalgam, General Munir has increasingly set the tone for Pakistan’s response through his aggressive public statements. On April 26, speaking to cadets at the country’s premier military academy in Karachi, he invoked the “two-nation theory” — a longstanding premise of Pakistan’s founding in 1947 that posits Hindus and Muslims as separate nations requiring distinct homelands. He also described Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein,” which represents the strategic importance of the region to Pakistan’s national identity.
General Munir’s stance appears to signal a shift in Pakistan’s approach to India, and the use of ideological language may indicate that he is disinclined to believe in the possibility of long-term peace with India. The army has also started exerting greater control over Pakistani politics and society under General Munir’s leadership, with restrictions on dissent and a more Islamist orientation.
The risk of miscalculation between the two nuclear-armed countries has become acute, with aggressive public messaging replacing diplomatic discussions. The United States and the United Nations have called for de-escalation, but if tensions continue to rise, there’s a concern that limited military strikes could escalate into a broader conflict.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/world/asia/pakistan-india-asim-munir.html
