Pak Army chief stokes trouble

Pakistan Army chief, General Asim Munir's provocative and incendiary speech that has gone viral, seeks to reinforce the Two-Nation theory, which led to the unfortunate partition of India way back in 1947.

- PANKAJ VOHRA

it did from the serving head of a uniformed force. Had a political leader made this kind of a statement, one could have comprehended it in the context of his ambitions, and attempt to endear himself to a section of the population. However, General Munir articulating his thoughts acquires a different meaning. Obviously, he is sending a hard-hitting message to Muslims living in India to drive home the point that they were in every manner different from their Hindu brothers.

As it is, there is enough hatred being spread by politicians, and so the timing of the Pakistan Army chief's utterances, coincides with the visit of a US Congressional delegation to his country as well as the adoption of the Waqf Amendment Act in India. What is appalling is that soldiers never express themselves like this, particularly when there is an elected government in place in Islamabad. It is obvious that he is conscious of the fact that he is exceeding his brief, and he desires to reassert that the Army had overriding say in the scheme of matters in Pakistan.