Kashmir is not an internal matter of India: Pakistan's Asim Munir reiterates 'jugular vein' comment

Pakistani Army chief Air Marshall Asim Munir has repeated his anti-India rhetoric of Kashmir being Pakistan's "jugular vein" while addressing the Pakistani diaspora at Florida in the US.

According to a PTI report, Munir said Kashmir is "not an internal matter of India but an incomplete international agenda. As the Quaid-e-Azam had said, Kashmir is the 'jugular vein' of Pakistan."

The Pakistani army chief made the comments while addressing the Pakistani diaspora in Tampa, Florida. He is currently on a visit to the US.

Munir further said his second visit to the US in just one and half months marked a new dimension in Pakistan-US relations, adding that the aim of these visits is to take the relations on a constructive, sustainable and positive path.

He said Pakistan is extremely grateful to Trump, whose strategic leadership has stopped the war between India and Pakistan as well as prevented many other wars around the world. India, has however, maintained that the ceasefire was done bilaterally.

During the address, Munir added that a trade agreement with the US is expected to attract huge investments and Pakistan has achieved significant successes on the international relations front.

'Jugular vein' remark weeks before Pahalgam attack

Only weeks before the tragic Pahalgam attack, Munir had said Pakistan will not forget the issue of Kashmir, asserting, "It was our jugular vein."

In reply, India's Ministry of External Affairs had said, "How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country."

Following the attack, India responded with Operation Sindoor in May, destroying nine terror camps in PoK and Pakistan.

Munir, however, said Pakistan responded "resolutely and forcefully" during the recent conflict with India.

Munir's US visit

Munir is on an official visit to the US. He has engaged in high-level interactions with senior political and military leadership, as well as members of the Pakistani diaspora, the Pakistani army said in a statement.

In June, Munir had travelled to the US on a five-day trip during which he attended a private luncheon with President Donald Trump, an unprecedented gesture typically reserved for visiting heads of state or government.

That meeting culminated in Trump's announcement of enhanced US-Pakistan cooperation in various fields, including an oil deal.