MEA hits back at Pak Army Chief's ‘Jugular Vein’ remarks on Kashmir
text_fields
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made it clear that the only relation that Pakistan has with Kashmir is that the country illegally occupies part of the region.
During the weekly press briefing MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also dismissed the Pakistani army chief’s claim that Kashmir is the ‘jugular vein’ of his country, The Wire reported.
Demanding to bring to justice perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Randhir Jaiswal said that Pakistan is still shielding them.
India’s response comes in the wake of Tahawwur Rana’s extradition to India for his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks.
Talking at the Overseas Pakistanis’ Convention in Islamabad on Tuesday, Pakistani chief of army staff General Asim Munir repeated the phrase ‘jugular vein’ which the Pakistani establishment used in the past.
‘We will not forget it. And we will not leave our Kashmiri brethren in their heroic struggle, what they are waging against the Indian occupation,’ General Munir reportedly said.
Responding to General Munir’s statement, Jaiswal asked: “How can anything foreign be there in a jugular vein?’, adding that ‘This is a Union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country.’
Supporting Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s two-nation theory, General Munir General Munir said: ‘Our forefathers thought that we are different from the Hindus in every possible aspect of life. Our religion is different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different.’
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said when Rana was extradited from the US last Thursday that Rana ‘did not even apply for renewal for his Pakistani origin documents for the last two decades’.
Jaiswal said Pakistan’s ‘reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism will not diminish,’, adding that ‘The extradition of Rana is a reminder yet again to Pakistan that it needs to act to bring to justice other perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, whom it continues to shield’.