Army chief urges India to engage with Pak like as a 'civilised nation'

Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has urged India to engage with Pakistan as a "civilised nation" rather than trying to impose its hegemony on the region, a Washington-datelined report said.

- Tariq Butt

In an interaction with the Pakistani American community in Washington, he also stated that Islamabad “strongly supports Iran” in its war with Israel, while backing US efforts to end the conflict.

The army chief, who is on an official visit to the United States this week, received a warm welcome from a large gathering of Pakistani Americans - some of whom had travelled from as far as California and Texas.

Field Marshal Munir was garlanded and showered with rose petals upon arrival at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown, Washington. Outside the venue, about half a dozen Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters staged a protest, demanding the release of jailed party founder Imran Khan and other leaders and the restoration of “full democracy” in Pakistan.

Inside, however, the crowd's enthusiastic chants of “Muhafiz Munir Zindabad!” easily drowned out the protesters. Supporters praised the armed forces’ performance during Operation Bunyan-um Marsoos against India, lauding their bravery and professionalism.